


O Pato Donald

by Caleana_Duck



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017), Legend of the Three Caballeros (Cartoon), The Three Caballeros (1944)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Angst, Drama, Emotional, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kissing, Love Triangle, M/M, Multi, No Smut, Repressed Feelings, Romance, also maybe kind of an AU, character injury, sort of a crossover, will add more tags as they become relevant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:35:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23489197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caleana_Duck/pseuds/Caleana_Duck
Summary: Donald is tricked into traveling to Brazil with his family, thinking they are searching for some lost treasure. He meets some old friends, and may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Relationships: Donald Duck/Panchito Pistoles, José Carioca/Donald Duck, José Carioca/Donald Duck/Panchito Pistoles, José Carioca/Panchito Pistoles
Comments: 57
Kudos: 284





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, readers! This story of mine is kind of a crossover of sorts. The events of Legend of the Three Caballeros and the plain old The Three Caballeros have already happened, but in this I imagine it happened before Donald’s nephews were born. This story takes place at some point in the 2017 Ducktales timeline but before Della comes back. I also imagine that the episode in Ducktales with the three caballeros didn’t happen, so the boys have never met the other two Caballeros. 
> 
> Now, the only language I fluently speak is English, but I have written José and Panchito speaking their respective languages. I don’t speak Spanish or Portuguese so I apologize if anything is wrong. At the end of each chapter I’ll put translations for what I’ve written (the way that google translate told me they were written). 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this first chapter!

Donald grumbled as he flung his arms around, trying to shake off mud that coated his whole body. He was wet, cold, and very irritable. It didn’t help that he could barely hear his own thoughts past the arguing of his two companions. He looked up at the green parrot and red rooster, each of which were waving their wings through the air furiously as they yelled at one another.

How had he managed to get himself in this situation? It had only been less than a week ago that he remembered sitting on the couch with his nephews and watching Ottoman Empire. Now he was covered head to toe in mud, and having to listen to the bickering of two birds he hadn’t seen in years.

Oh yeah, his nephews. That’s how this all started. He had been inside his boat house that was in Uncle Scrooge’s pool, cleaning the inside when his nephews had come barging in.

“Uncle Donald! Uncle Donald! Uncle Donald!” All three of them yelled simultaneously. Webby had followed in after them with a shy grin on her face.

Donald yelped in surprise as he flailed his arms in surprise, knocking over a flower vase he had just put up. It shattered on the ground, dirt scattering everywhere, and earning a sigh from the older duck. He went and grabbed a broom and dust pan before acknowledging his nephews.

“Yes, boys?” Donald asked as he swept up the dirt and broken pieces of the vase.

“Uncle Scrooge said we’re going to Brazil!” Dewey exclaimed excitedly.

“He said something about some legend, but all I heard was that there’d be mountains of jewels.” Louie said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, he said we’re going to Bahia!” Huey added with a nod.

“Well, technically we’re going to Salvador which is in Bahia.” Webby stated matter of factly.

Donald’s eyes widened slightly and then fluttered as he leaned against the small table the vase had fallen from. He had a dreamy look in his eyes. “Ah, Bahia.”

The four younger ducks shared glances at his reaction. They all had little smirks on their faces which they quickly wiped away.

“Have you been to Bahia, Uncle Donald?” Huey asked as Dewey waved a hand in front of their Uncle’s face.

Donald blinked the dazed look from his eyes and looked down at his nephews and Webby. “Have I been to Bahia? It’s… been a long time.” He smiled sadly. “I don’t know what kind of treasure besides the culture you’d find in Salvador, though.”

“Well, you know Scrooge,” Louie said hastily, “he knows how to sniff out treasure.”

“True.” Donald chuckled. “Well… when are we leaving?”

“In an hour!” Webby exclaimed with a giggle. The other three laughed with her as they ran out and off of the boat as Donald sputtered in surprise.

They left in the Sunchaser an hour later just as Webby had said they would. They bid their goodbyes to Mrs. Beakley and Duckworth as they left for Brazil. It took them a little over a few hours to reach their destination, which was a private airport that Scrooge had rented for them in Salvador. Donald still wasn’t sure what type of treasure the older Scottish duck was expecting to find in Bahia’s capital, but he didn’t bother to ask. He knew that Scrooge was more than capable of finding treasure, and if he said there was some there, then Donald was inclined to believe him.

It was dark by the time they had gotten all their stuff off of the plane and gotten themselves settled in to their hotel. They decided to take a nightly stroll through the city, taking in the lights and sights. They kept catching Donald slowing down with his head on a pivot as he looked around. They could tell he was enjoying the environment, but he also looked like he kept expecting to see something.

“Lad, why don’t you go have some fun? The kids and I can do the boring work that is investigating. That ol’ dive there looks like some fun!” Uncle Scrooge slapped Donald on the back as he pushed him towards a little bar.

The kids stood behind Scrooge, each with a smirk and a twinkle in their eyes. They seemed to be holding back laughter and stifling a giddiness. They nodded altogether, showing their agreement with Scrooge, and telling Donald that they’d be fine.

Donald raised a brow suspiciously. It was obvious that the lot were up to something. He went to protest but was stopped when he could hear samba music pouring out from the doors. “Well… Fine. Be safe, kids, and keep an eye on your Uncle Scrooge.” He smiled before heading into the bar.

It wasn’t near as crowded as he expected it to be, but there was still a decent amount of people inside. Most were on the dance floor, moving in time with that samba beat. Donald found his own flippers starting to tap with the music. He started heading towards the dance floor when he clumsily tripped over his own flippers.

He went flying towards the ground. He saw a flash of red and felt his face smash into something soft. He could feel hands gripping his upper arms gently. He pulled his head back a little and noticed that it was a chest full of red feathers that his beak had landed on.

“You are one torpé pato, mi amigo.”

Donald looked up at the sound of the smooth voice talking to him. He was met with the sight of a rooster looking back down at him. “Panchito?!” He exclaimed incredulously.

“Si, mi amigo, it is I, Panchito!” The rooster stepped away while placing one hand on his chest and putting the other in the air in a grand gesture. “I was wondering when you would arrive.” He smiled as he shook Donald’s hand, shaking the whole bird with the movement.

“O que está acontecendo aqui? You cannot have a festa without me!”

Donald turned around at hearing another sultry voice behind him. There was a green parrot standing close to him with both his hands in the air, one holding an umbrella while the other held a cigar. “José?!” Donald spat in confusion.

“Olá, meu amigo pato. Long time no see, eh?” José put the cigar in his mouth. He flipped his umbrella around in a fancy motion before setting it on the ground and leaning on it.

Donald jumped in the air and stomped on the ground multiple times. “What is going on here?!” He yelled with confused anger, waving his fists around.

The building went quiet as the music stopped, people quit dancing, and all eyes were thrown towards Donald. The two other birds grimaced and each grabbed one of the duck’s arms. They drug him outside, giving anyone they passed apologetic looks.

Once outside, Donald pulled his arms out of their grasps. “Start talking!” He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot angrily.

“Eu sinto muito, Donald, what do you mean?” José asked with a raised brow.

“Si, Donald! I don’t know about him, but you invited me here.” Panchito cut in.

“I didn’t invite you here! I’m here with my Uncle Scrooge and nephews!” Donald huffed, and turned to walk away.

José jumped forward and grabbed Donald’s hand. “Esperar, meu amigo! You invited me as well, did you not? I received an email from you a few days ago.” The parrot pulled out his phone and pulled up the email, showing it to the duck.

Donald snatched the phone out of his hand and began to read the email.

_Dear José,_

_I am contacting you to cordially invite you to have a fine night of dancing and camaraderie. I’d be pleased to have your accompaniment._

_Sincerely, Donald Duck_

There was an attachment to the email with the address of the bar they were standing outside of.

Donald sighed and handed the phone back to José. “Boys…” He mumbled, thinking the email had his nephews write all over it.

“I got the same email too! What is this about sobrinos? You are a tío, Donald?” Panchito asked with a surprised look.

“Just sobrinhos? There aren’t pequeno Donalds running around?” José wondered, placing a hand on Donald’s shoulder.

Donald looked at José’s hand before grabbing it and moving it off of him, where it flopped back down at José’s side. “Eleven years is a long time. A lot has happened, but I don’t have kids. At least, none of my own.” He had never fully taken the title of being their parent, but he had always kind of felt like a father to his nephews.

José let out a breath, seemingly relieved by that news. “Yes, it has been a long time.” He looked down with regret.

“But we are here now, viejos amigos!” Panchito exclaimed happily. “Come, let us meet your familia! We can catch up on our years of absence.” He wrapped an arm around José and squeezed him close.

José scowled and ducked out from under his arm. “I actually agree with this idiota.” He waved a hand dismissively towards Panchito who sighed and crossed his arms. “It would not hurt to reconcile our differences. I won’t lie, I have missed you Pato Donald.” José wrung his hands around his umbrella handle.

Donald rubbed the back of his neck, slightly ruffling his feathers. “Gosh, José, Panchito. I don’t know…” He turned his back to the other two birds and stroked his chin in thought. He slumped over defeatedly. “I’ve missed you guys, too.”

Panchito seemed to vibrate with excitement. He ran up to Donald, wrapped his arms around him, picked him up, and spun them both around. “Muchas gracias! Te he echado de menos! Donald, it is so good to see you again.” Panchito laughed as he put Donald down and noticed the duck’s eyes rolling around with dizziness.

José scoffed before stepping in between the two. He wrapped his arms around Donald tightly. “Still cute as ever I see.” He said quietly to the duck. He could hear Panchito click his tongue behind them. José smirked as he pulled away. “Shall we go meet your família now?”

Donald had turned away, trying to hide the blush that had appeared on his face. “I think they went this way.” He motioned for the other two to follow him as he started walking in the direction that he had seen his family heading.

“Um… Just so you know, I’ve never told my nephews about you. I have a feeling they orchestrated this meeting, though. They’re very smart for their age.” Donald glanced back at the two walking right behind him. He felt his stomach churn at their disappointed faces. “We didn’t leave on the best terms, fellas.” He tried to excuse his actions, but he knew that he should have told his nephews about his two oldest, once closest, friends.

The other two looked like they wanted to say something but they kept their beaks closed. They walked in silence until they came up on a square that was littered with food trucks and vendors. Donald immediately spotted his family in the crowd. They were waiting in line for one of the food trucks, and each of them, except for Scrooge, were covered in glow stick jewelry. Launchpad was wearing more than the four little ducks combined.

Dewey noticed the three of them first, immediately waving his arms around, and calling them over. “Uncle Donald, look at these cool glow sticks!” He pulled out a big glow stick that was shaped like a sword, that he proceeded to wave at Webby who had one as well.

Webby was too busy looking at the birds behind Donald. “Oh wow! They actually came!” She jumped up and down excitedly. “It’s them! I’ve read all about your adventures!”

“You know about us, pequeña dama?” Panchito stepped to the side of Donald with a big smile as he looked down at Webby.

“Of course! You three went on the coolest adventures. I was telling the guys all about them! You were best friends, and even saved the world!” Webby started shaking Huey as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Which somehow we never knew about.” Louie said bitterly as he kicked at the ground.

Dewey jumped in front of his green clad brother with his arms spread out. “Which is totally fine! You work so hard Uncle Donald, and have always taken care of us. We thought maybe you’d like a little vacation and to see your friends again.”

“We thought maybe you hadn’t seen them or told us about them because you’ve always been so busy taking care of us.” Huey rubbed his arm, feeling guilty.

Donald’s previous look of anger faded into one of appreciation. “Oh, boys.” He scooped all four kids into his arms, hugging them tight. He let them go and then put his hands on his hips. “So you sent them the emails?” He started tapping his foot on the ground.

“Well, Webby found their email addresses, and I wrote the emails themselves.” Huey put his arms behind his back with embarrassment.

“Don’t be mad at the kids, Donald. I’m the one who told them about you three in the first place.” Uncle Scrooge cut in, both of his hands in front of him and on his cane.

“I for one, am very grateful for this meeting.” José nudged Donald before stepping towards the children. He took off his hat and tipped it towards the kids in greeting. “Olá, crianças! My name is José Carioca. You three must be Donald’s nephews.” He looked at three boys. “You three look so much like your uncle!”

Panchito laughed at the unsure faces the kids made. “Don’t look so disappointed, it’s a compliment pequeños.” He wrapped an arm around Donald’s shoulders and squeezed. “This one was a chick magnet back in the day. Why he used chase after all the señoras!” Panchito slapped his knee in remembrance. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzalez, but you can call me Panchito.” He let go of Donald and bowed.

Donald felt another blush creep on his face. He quickly stepped behind his nephews to hide it. “Well, this is Dewey, Louie, and Huey.” He tapped each of their heads respectively. “And this is Webby. She’s part of the family too.” He smiled and tussled the girl’s hair, making her giggle.

“Now,” Donald turned to his Uncle, “was there ever any treasure or legend? Or was this all a trick?”

“Weeeell, yes and no, lad. At first it was just a plot to get you three back together. When the kids asked me about it, I remembered how good of friends you used to be, and honestly lad, you could use some friends.” Scrooge threw his hands up as he noticed his nephew’s face start to turn red with anger. “Take no offense, lad! I mean well. There wasn’t any legend, but I think we may have stumbled onto something today.”

Webby jumped in front of Scrooge. “We found some locals who were talking about sightings of a Culebrón in the jungle!”

Donald just blinked at her, not showing any excitement or recognition at those words.

José stepped forward, his eyes wide. “People have seen a Viborón? I thought they were just a myth.” He puffed on his cigar in thought. “I guess that’s not so surprising; we’ve probably seen weirder things, eh, meu amigos?”

“I’m with Donald here. What is the thing you’re talking about?” Panchito asked with a shrug.

“It is an old South American legend. They are said to be like snakes, but over two meters long, six feet for you Americans, probably even longer than that. They have thick bodies covered in fur, which some accounts say sometimes look like feathers. They have heads that kind of look like bezzeros, or a calf’s head. They are said to live in burrows and guard buried treasure.” José explained.

“And I’d bet my bottom dollar that if people are seeing this creature, then there’s a buck or two to be made in looking for it.” Scrooge said.

“So you want to take the kids into the jungle to find some giant snake?” Donald huffed. “That sounds dangerous.”

“Oh, come on, Uncle Donald!” Louie threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “We’ve totally done more dangerous stuff than this.”

“I can’t even count the times we’ve almost died by now!” Dewey laughed, but slowly stopped when he saw the looks his brothers were giving him.

“And beside Mr. Duck, it’s a possibility that this really is just a legend and there’s no fact to it. Although, most legends come from a place of truth.” Webby cocked her head as the cogs in her head were turning.

“Venga, Donald!” Panchito put his fists on his hips. “Would it not be fun to go on an adventure for old time’s sake? Be the Three Caballeros once again?”

Donald groaned at all the pleading looks everyone was giving him. “Fine. I’m sure even if I said no you’d all drag me along anyways.”

The kids jumped around and cheered as if it was Christmas morning. They relayed their thanks to Donald before remembering they had been in line for food, each of them commenting about how hungry they were.

José tutted while placing his umbrella in front of them all to block their path. “No, no, no. No friends of mine will be staying in Brasil and eating this lixo. No, I will take you all to eat some genuine Brazilian food!” He shooed the kids away trying to get them to leave the line.

Everyone, besides Donald and Panchito, looked unsure as they were lead out of the square by the parrot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with chapter two! I wanted to get this one done a littler sooner, but we’ll it didn’t happen. I’ll once again put translations on the end notes, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The restaurant José took them to was more towards the outskirts of Salvador. The crowd of tourists died down the further out from the heart of the city they went. The restaurant itself was decently busy despite the lack of tourists. They were worried they would have to wait to get a seat, but when the hostess saw José, she got them seated almost immediately.  
  
“I remember taking your Uncle to this very restaurant many years ago!” José reminisced as the others were looking at the menus with befuddled looks. “Do not worry I will order for everyone.” He chuckled at the uncertain looks everyone gave him. “You are some skeptical patos, meu amigos. I promise, you will be eating the finest that Brasil has to offer.”

“You three will eat macaroni and cheese with ketchup, so don’t make those faces.” Donald chided his nephews. “Besides, he’s not lying when he says the food is good.”

“I don’t know about you two, but I could definitely use some cachaça.” Panchito put a hand to his mouth and mumbled.

“Oh, that’s a traditional Brazilian alcoholic drink right?” Huey asked.

The parrot and rooster looked at the boy dumbfounded. 

“What? I did some research when I heard we were coming to Brazil.” Huey shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, you cannot come to Brasil and not have some cachaça.” José grinned mischievously. “That is if Donald thinks he can take it.”

“What?! Of course I can take it.” Donald folded his arms across his chest indignantly.

“Uh, laddie, that might not be such a good idea.” Scrooge said from across the table.

“Why not Mr. McD? We’re supposed to be on vacation right?” Launchpad asked, thumbing his many glow stick necklaces.

“Yeah! So order us a round, José!” Donald agreed, slapping a hand on the table.

The kids all looked at each other with doubt. They had never seen their Uncle Donald drink alcohol before. They didn’t even think Donald approved of anything like that until now. It didn’t seem to faze José or Panchito because they both just laughed.

Panchito slapped Donald on the back. “Oh, Donald! Always the competitive one, eh? I can’t tell you how many times your tío has gotten into drinking contests with random strangers!” He chuckled at the thought as Donald slumped in his chair, pouting.

“Oh, sim, it is so divertido! He would lose every time!” José slapped his knee as he laughed.

“We always ended up carrying him home after nights like that!” Panchito looked at José as he continued to laugh as well.

“Okay that’s enough.” Donald grumbled, his face red with embarrassment.

“If you guys were such good friends, then why had we never heard of you? Why did you stop hanging out?” Louie asked with a frown and raised brow with his arms over his chest, almost mimicking his uncle.

All three of them got dejected looks, while averting their eyes from each other. Panchito looked sad as he took off his sombrero and brought it to his chest. Donald got a tired look on his face as he sighed. José furiously puffed on his cigar with a more annoyed look than anything.

José quickly regained his composure as he stood up from the table. “Excuse me, my friends. I will go order our food and drinks.” He winked at the children before going to find a waitress.

“Did you guys get in a fight?” Webby asked softly, intuitively analyzing their reactions.

“Well, pequeña dama… I think the easiest answer is that we all went our own directions. Life had different plans for us.” Panchito gave them a sad smile, filled with regret.

“What he said.” Donald agreed without looking at Panchito.

“But you three singlehandedly saved the world! You stopped Felldrake from destroying the world! You were the Three Caballeros!” Webby exclaimed.

“My dear,” José walked back up to the table, “things change. We stopped being the Three Caballeros a long time ago.” He sat down with a sigh, glancing at Donald and Panchito.

The kids obviously wanted to ask more questions, but decided against it when they noticed the looks on the threes’ faces. They were spared from the inevitable awkward silence thanks to the waitress bringing their drinks. The adults were given glasses of cachaça, while the kids had mock tails with cute, little umbrellas. 

Scrooge gently pushed his drink away as he asked the waitress for water. “One of us should stay sober.” He mumbled.

Donald had already thrown back over half of his drink. The kids couldn’t help but giggle when they saw smoke coming out of the corners of his mouth. Donald noticed José and Panchito snickering into their own glasses as they sipped. He growled before downing the rest of his drink, and reaching across the table to grab Scrooge’s.

Scrooge looked concerned but didn’t say anything. He figured his nephew was old enough to make his own decisions without an old man’s input. He looked over and noticed Launchpad had also pushed his drink away. “Launchpad, what happened to this being a vacation?”

“Oh, I’m a pilot, Mr. McD. I can’t drink.” Launchpad stated with an affirming nod.

At that moment, a few waitresses came out and set out a whole spread of traditional Brazilian food. They brought out family sized platters of feijoada, vatapá, and other Brazilian dishes. Donald, José, and Panchito all rubbed their hands together in anticipation before they started layering their plates with food. José explained what each dish was as he put some on his own plate.

Some time later, they all sat splayed out in their chairs, bellies full of warm, comforting food. During the duration of their meal, Donald had drank Scrooge’s drink, and was now nursing on Launchpad’s as well. His two companions had also drank their drinks, but their faces weren’t red like Donald’s was. The duck was starting to hiccup every now and then, partly from the booze and in part from how much food he had eaten.

“That was actually pretty good, Mr. Carioca.” Dewey said with a burp as he pat his stomach.

“Ah, I hoped you would enjoy it. Your uncle wasn’t sure about it either at first.” José chuckled and grinned at Donald, who was staring at his empty plate while hiccuping and sipping on his third drink.

Donald perked up at the mention of his name. “What? Oh, yeah. José gave me the grand tour of Bahia. That was years ago now, but still those were good times.” Donald got the same dreamy look he had gotten when the kids had first mentioned Bahia just earlier that day.

“Si, meu amigo, those were the good old days.” José smiled fondly while standing up from the table. “Remember the times we would dance our troubles away?” He stretched a hand out towards Donald. “Dance with me, seu pato bonito.”

Donald’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed even brighter red at the parrot’s words. He wasn’t fluent in Portuguese but he had picked up enough along the way to know that José had just called him handsome. He looked at José’s hand, then back to his face. He couldn’t help but grin as he put his hand in the other’s.

As the two birds stepped away from the table, all four kids shared surprised looks. Thoughts and questions were racing through their minds.

“Uncle Donald can dance?” Dewey asked quietly, only earning shrugs from the other little ducks.

The music that had been playing softly in the background while they ate, was turned up a little louder. José shot a finger gun as thanks to their waitress, who covered her mouth and giggled. José then put a hand on his chest as he started to move his body with the beat. His feet moved as if they had a mind of their own. His motions all came together fluidly and to the rhythm of the samba beat.

Donald stood there for a second, just watching José dance. It was almost as if he was in a trance, studying every movement and nuance of the green parrot. His grin suddenly widened into a full on smile as he slowly started to follow José. He was nowhere near as graceful, but he was managing to follow along decently well.

“Yes, Donald! You are getting it!” José encouraged as he took one of Donald’s hands, noticing the duck’s movements were more than a little wobbly.

At the table, Panchito had balled a hand into a fist and lightly hit the table in annoyance. “¡Maldito sea! He thinks he’s so charming.” He grumbled as he looked around in thought. He looked at the vase on their table that acted as a centerpiece. He grinned and then snatched the biggest, brightest cattleya, a South American orchid, from the vase.

Panchito slid over to the dancing birds. “I hope you saved a dance for me.” He slipped the orchid stem sideways in his mouth as he grabbed Donald’s hand. He pulled him from José’s grasp, spun him around, and then dipped him low. The rooster looked down at Donald and noticed the duck was breathing heavily as his chest rose up and down. Panchito waggled his brows, then used his tongue to flip the flower to the other side of his mouth. Panchito pulled Donald back up, spinning him around once more. In the time it took for Donald to spin around completely, Panchito had got down on one knee and held the flower outwards, offering it to the duck.

Donald stuck his arms out as he struggled to stand up straight from the spin. Once settled, he looked down at Panchito. His breath caught in his throat and he gulped. His gaze traveled up to José who was standing a bit behind Panchito with a shocked look on his face. Then he looked at his family sitting at the table, having almost forgot they were even there. He yelped, and his whole face burned, somehow, even more red.

Donald started shaking his head furiously. “No, no, no! This isn’t happening!” He said to himself frantically, before turning around and running out of the restaurant. He felt his eyes start to slightly water as he burst out the front doors.

“Donald!” Both Panchito and José called after their old friend.

Panchito dropped the flower onto the ground, and then ran out of the building after the duck.

“I am sorry, meu amigos, I think your uncle is feeling the cachaça.” José gave the ducks an apologetic smile. “It is getting late; why don’t you all go back to the hotel? Panchito and I can bring Donald back safely. We’ve had some practice dealing with him.” The parrot winked, placed a stack a stack of Brazilian reais onto the table, and then hurriedly followed the two previous birds out of the restaurant.

Donald had made it quite a ways down the street before he inevitably fell. He tripped over his own feet and plummeted straight onto the stone road, landing right on his beak. “Ow…” He groaned, not making any motion to get up.

“Donald!” Panchito called out again as he ran to the duck’s side. He hoisted Donald back up onto his feet. “Are you okay, mi amigo?” He asked as he looked Donald over to make sure he was okay.

“Go mi amigo to someone who cares!” Donald shoved the rooster away, making himself stumble backwards in the process. He took a step back and managed to trip over the curb.

There was a flash of red and green, and the two exotic birds dashed to the duck’s side. They both grabbed one of his arms, catching him before he was able to hit the ground. They drug him over to a nearby stone bench which sat on a balcony that overlooked the city outskirts along with the beach and ocean.

“Meu amigo, what is the matter?” José asked as he tilted his head to look at Donald.

Panchito, from the other side of Donald, was shaking his head in warning.

Donald yelled incoherently while violently shaking their grips off of him. He stood up and walked over to the railing, resting his arms on it as he slumped over. He groaned in frustration then stood back up straight. He turned back around to face the other two, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned back against the railing. “You two are acting like nothing happened, as if everything is normal. As if _this_ is normal!”

“Why do you think this is not normal?” José asked cooly.

“You two were the best friends a guy could ask for.” Donald admitted with a pained look. “You were always there for me, and then one day you just abandoned me!”

“Donald, I think you are un poco confundida. You are the one who told José and I to leave. You said something along the lines of us being loco, bueno para nada, cabróns.” Panchito’s brows knit together and he looked down at the ground.

Donald sighed and folded his arms even tighter. “Do you remember Della?”

José and Panchito looked at one another, both confused, and then back to Donald. They both nodded, not quite sure where this was going.

“Of course. Your irmã, right? We met her a few times, I believe.” José affirmed.

“Well… she disappeared right before you two left. I’ve been raising the boys, mostly by myself, since then.” Donald’s face scrunched up even further. “You two left when I needed you most. I’ve been a near penniless single parent for almost eleven years, and you two were just gone. So, you two being here and just getting to act like nothing has changed is not okay.”

José’s face went from shocked, apologetic, to annoyed. “How were either of us suppose to know this? You practically told us to leave the States to get as far away from you as possible.”

“And you listened? I was going through hell and you two were always fighting. We weren’t the same Three Caballeros we used to be back in the day eleven years ago, and we’re definitely not them now.” Donald huffed.

Panchito let out a shaky sigh as he stood up from the bench. “Donald… I’m sorry if the years have not been good to you. Even if José and I argued then, we each lost two amigos as well. There’s nothing we can do to get those years back, but we are together again, yes? I’m sure I can speak for all of us when I say that we all had hardships that a couple good friends would have been able to make a lot better.” Panchito rolled his eyes upwards, trying to keep his eyes from tearing up. “All three of us made mistakes, and could have done things to make things different. So, we cannot sit here and blame one or the other.”

Donald had an apprehensible face as he slid down the railing until he was sitting on the ground. He just grumbled, with his legs out straight, and looking everywhere he could, except for at the two birds in front of him.

“Mi amigos… I have missed you so much Donald… and you too José. I just want us to be together again. We were familia once.” Panchito pulled his sombrero off and wrung it in his hands nervously, like an anxious teenager asking someone to prom.

“I won’t lie, I… have also missed you two. Maybe, Panchito is right. It has been too many years for us to be here now, fighting or whatever this is we are doing.” José agreed, looking tired.

Donald blinked a few times before struggling to stand. The ground almost felt like it was moving, trying to stop him from getting up. “Phooey.” He mumbled to himself. “I’m outta here,” he said before he once again tripped over his own flippers, landing right on top of Panchito.

Panchito caught the duck with a surprised yelp. “Oh boy…” He leaned back and looked down at Donald.

Donald had his eyes closed and was gripping onto the hem of Panchito’s jacket. He was mumbling quietly, but it just sounded like he was making noises. He pressed his face into the rooster’s chest, nuzzling the soft, red feathers.

Panchito smiled, with a loving look in his eyes. He was glad at that moment to have red feathers that could hide the creeping blush on his face. “Come, José, we should take our duck friend back to his familia.”

José stood up from the bench and nodded in agreement. “Yes, it is getting late. I have a feeling we have a long aventura ahead of us. Donald, do you think you can walk?” José tugged on his jacket cuffs, readjusting his sleeves.

Donald only grumbled more in response to the parrot, and was shaking his head no.

Panchito laughed at the duck’s antics, as well as the annoyed face that José pulled at his and Donald’s proximity. “No hay problema, amigo.” He scooped Donald up into his arms as he stood up.

Donald immediately buried his face deeper into Panchito’s chest and curled his legs up. He held onto the rooster as if he let go, he’d fall to his death. He let out a soft hiccup every now and then as Panchito carried him back to the hotel, with José in tow.

Scrooge was sitting in the lobby when they arrived. He had a magazine flipped open, skimming through it. He was only looking at the pictures, as it was written in Portuguese. “Ah, there you are. Took you lads long enough.” He stood up from the chair he had been sitting in. He raised a brow in surprise at the sight of his nephew.

Donald almost looked like a child in Panchito’s arms. On the walk back to the hotel, it seemed that he had fallen asleep. He was breathing softly, but still had his hands clenched to the rooster.

“I’ll show ya to his room.” Scrooge said, motioning for them to follow.

Once they were in Donald’s room, Panchito gently set him down on the bed. Donald murmured in his sleep, and curled up under the blankets. Panchito felt his heart warm at the sight. He left the room and gently closed to door behind him.

Scrooge and José were standing outside waiting for him. “Well, I’m inclined to ask if you two need somewhere to stay.” Scrooge made a face at the thought of having to spend some more money.

“That is kind of you, senhor, but I already have sleeping accommodations.” José assured.

“Si, señor, I too am good for the night.” Panchito added.

“One more thing.” Scrooge said before the other two took off. “The kids seem to like you two. Not real sure why, but I think they were hoping you’d join us on our little adventure. I assumed you’d be joining us anyways, but we’ll be leaving early in the morning if you want to tag along.”

The other two birds looked at one another, then back at the older duck. They both nodded with smiles on their faces. Neither of them were thinking about the possibly perilous journey to come; instead their thoughts were on the duck who was silently sleeping in the other room. They both bid their goodbyes and went their separate ways for the night.

Only a few feet away, there was a bunch of four little heads pressed up against a door. There was a pitter patter of webbed feet as they all scrambled back into their designated beds. Huey and Louie shared a bed, Webby got one to herself, and Dewey was on the pullout sofa bed. All of them hurriedly got under their covers and closed their eyes, pretending to be asleep.

They heard their door open, and all tensed up. Scrooge was standing at their door, looking around their room. When he was convinced that the children were asleep, he shut the door again. As soon as they heard the door click, the kids shot up, looked at each other, and shared soft giggles.

“So, what do you guys think of José and Panchito?” Webby asked quietly once she was sure that Scrooge wouldn’t come back.

“Well,” Huey thought, “they seem pretty cool.”

“Yeah,” Dewey chimed in, “and Uncle Donald seems to like them.”

“He can’t like them that much if he never told us about them.” Louie said with his arms crossed.

“I’m sure your Uncle had a reason for that.” Webby laid down on her stomach and gently kicked her feet behind her. “I can’t be the only one who thought that they were being a little more than friendly with Donald?”

The three brothers all looked at each other and shrugged. They hadn’t really thought about it, so they were all going through the night in their heads. Their eyes are widened one by one as each of them came to their own realizations.

“They like _Uncle Donald_?” Louie asked.

“Does Uncle Donald like guys?” Huey wondered.

“Do you think it has something to do with why they don’t hang out anymore?” Webby pondered excitedly.

“Do you think Uncle Donald knows they like him?” Dewey thought.

They all looked at each other as they thought over each other’s questions. Each had similar thoughts and questions in response to their own wonderings.

“Okay, so,” Huey put his hands together, “we all agree Uncle Donald has no idea they like him, right?” He earned nonchalant nods from the other little ducks.

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Louie leaned against the headboard. “Uncle Donald is probably the most oblivious person we know.”

“He also kind of sucks at relationships.” Dewey sighed. “For as long as I can remember he’s been on maybe five dates, and all of them were with Daisy.”

“Why aren’t they together?” Webby asked curiously.

“Webby, Uncle Donald is especially prone to disaster. It seems anytime he tries to do something, whether it’s clean the dishes or go on a date, something goes wrong.” Huey answered.

“Plus, I think Daisy’s standards are quite a bit higher than Uncle Donald.” Dewey said with a wince.

“I’m still a little salty about Uncle Donald not telling us about them, but… I want him to be happy.” Louie said with a sigh. “So, I think we should help him.”

Webby opened her mouth as if she was screaming, but no sound came out. “Oh, are we going to play match makers?! Yes, yes, yes! Okay, we’re going to need to figure out more stuff about them. We want to do this properly.” She was already going through ideas and plans in her head.

The boys just chuckled as they all laid back down in their beds. They were all a little unsure of the days to come. They knew that this trip had originally been for their Uncle, and for the most part they wanted to try and keep it that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations  
> Sim- yeah  
> Divertido- funny  
> seu pato bonito- you handsome duck  
> Maldito sea- damn it  
> un poco confundida- a little confused   
> loco- crazy  
> bueno para nada- good for nothing  
> cabróns- bastards  
> Irmã- sister  
> Aventura- adventure  
> No hay problema- no problem


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, finally! Here is chapter three! I feel like I had trouble with this chapter, but it’s also a bit longer than the first two. I like to think that Panchito can speak and understand Portuguese, but is more used to speaking Spanish. As before, translations will be in the after notes! Enjoy!

The following morning felt like it came too quickly. All of the duck family, besides Donald, were on the first floor enjoying their hotel’s complimentary breakfast. The only one who acted like it wasn’t too early was Scrooge, who was happily sipping on coffee and reading a newspaper that he supposedly brought from home since it was in English. The other four were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes as they munched on eggs, muffins, waffles, and the like.

“I’m giving your uncle five more minutes before I send Launchpad to wake him up.” Scrooge folded his newspaper and set it down on the table. “He’s lucky I’m even letting him sleep in.”

“Ah, there you are família pato.” José stood at the entrance to the dining area. He was holding a big box that was immediately identifiable as a box of donuts. On top of the box, there was a small, white paper sack that was greasy on the bottom from whatever was inside. “It looks like you all have had breakfast already, but I brought rosquinhas for you all.”

José smiled as he set the box on a nearby table, holding onto the little sack. The kids pushed their current meals away and ran over to the box. They opened it and began calling dibs on certain donuts. José laughed at the little ducks as he leaned onto his umbrella. He looked satisfied that they seemed pleased.

They all turned their attention back to the dining room entrance as they heard a groaning noise steadily grow louder. Donald appeared in the doorway, slightly slumped over. “Ooooh,” he moaned, “ I don’t feel so good.” He waddled over to the table that José and the kids were around. He plopped down in a chair, and made a face as if he was about to puke.

“Hey, man, don’t yak all over the donuts!” Dewey yelled as he grabbed the box, moving it out of the line of fire.

Donald only groaned some more as he folded his arms on the table and laid his forehead down on them. He slowly turned his head to the side, and looked over at José with one eye. “You’re still here.” He said bluntly and with no emotion.

José shook his head while chuckling. “Yes, I am still here. Your uncle invited me along. I also figured you might need a translator. You’ll be less likely to find people who speak English the further into the jungle you go.” He sat down in the chair next to Donald, and set the little sack in front of the duck’s face. He then leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

Donald perked up when the smell of food wafted into his nostrils. “What’s this?” He asked, pulling the sack closer.

“I thought you’d most likely feel bad this morning so I brought you an attested Brazilian pick me up for those mornings after partying a little too hard.” José smiled gently, and nodded his head towards Donald, motioning for him to open the bag.

Donald reached into the bag and pulled out a half circle shaped pastry. It was golden brown from being deep fried. Donald took a bite and noticed it was filled with meat, cheese, and vegetables.

“Is that a Hot Pocket?” Louie asked with a mouthful of donut.

Huey scoffed as he munched on his own donut. “No, that’s called a pastel. They’re like meat pies. I’ve never had one, but-“

“You did research. We know.” Dewey and Louie said in unison.

“Hola! Cómo te va, mi amigos?” Panchito came walking through the same doorway that the others have. He was holding two drink carriers which he promptly set down at the table. “I have hot chocolate for everyone!”

Panchito pulled up a chair on the other side of Donald. “This,” he grabbed one of the drinks and placed it in front of the duck, “is for you. I would have been here sooner, but I had un pequeño problema finding this. It is té de poleo, a type of minty tea. It should help with la resaca, mi amigo.”

The rooster placed a hand gently on Donald’s back, rubbing circles with his thumb. He leaned in so close to the duck that he could feel his breath on his cheek. “This,” he slipped a hand in Donald’s pocket, “is more likely to help, though.” When Panchito removed his hand from the pocket, it sagged slightly with the added weight of what he put inside. He pat Donald’s chest and then returned to his own seat.

Donald rubbed at his face, making it look like he was still tired. He was really trying to hide his cheeks which had turned red from the sudden closeness to the rooster. When Panchito left his side, he reached his own hand into his pocket. He pulled the item out just a little so that only he could see it. It was a tiny glass bottle of tequila. Donald looked at Panchito with half lidded eyes and an unamused look.

Panchito gripped his stomach as he laughed. “Your face is priceless, mi amigo!”

Donald shook his head, but a small smile was on his face. He looked down at the bag of pastels and cup of tea, while still holding the miniature bottle. He glanced at José and then Panchito, who were both giving him soft smiles. He felt his breath hitch in his throat as he started to feel panicked. He shoved the remaining pastels into his mouth, guzzled the tea, and quickly stood up from the table. “Hey, I thought we had some giant snake thing to find! We should get going; I’ll go pack my bag!” He spoke so fast that the others almost didn’t understand him, and then dashed out of the dining room, only leaving a cloud of dust behind.

“Your tío is one funny fellow.” Panchito was still chuckling a little as he stood up.

None of the adults noticed how Webby had her mouth open, was shaking her fists giddily, and was bouncing up and down. The triplets, though, did notice and all stared at her quizzically. She grabbed the boys hands, and followed in suit with Donald, running out of the room. “We’re going to pack our bags too!” She called behind her.

“Okay, what brilliant conclusion have you come to?” Louie asked once they were back in their room.

“I think not only do your Uncle’s friend like him, but I think Donald likes them back as well!” Webby shook with excitement. “I mean didn’t you see how he was acting?”

“Uh, I don’t know. He was acting weird like normal, I guess.” Dewey offered.

Huey scratched his chin. “Webby might be right. He is acting stranger than normal.”

“Why don’t we just ask him?” Louie asked in an exasperated tone.

“We have to do it subtly. We can’t just dive into this juicy love triangle without knowing some hard facts first.” Webby placed a fist onto her palm.

Downstairs, the remaining adults were making preparations for the journey to come.

“Mr. McPato, I hope you don’t mind but I found us transportation through the jungle.” Panchito told the older duck. “I have familia in Bahia, and I contacted a cousin of mine. He has a bote that he said we could borrow. It should be the safest and fastest way to travel.”

“Fine by me. I didn’t exactly want to rent a vehicle anyways!” Scrooge said in a chipper voice. “Launchpad,” he turned to the larger duck who was in the process of putting a donut in his mouth, “if ya don’t mind, could ya stay with the Sunchaser? Never know when we might need a last minute rescue. I’ll give ya a satellite phone so that we can get a hold of ya, lad.”

“No problem, Mr. McD!” Launchpad threw his hand up in salute. “You can count on me!”

—————————————————————

“ _This_ is the safest way to travel?” José asked with his hands on his hips.

They had all finished gathering their stuff, and were now standing at a dingy dock that was a few miles from Salvador. There was a medium sized fishing boat parked at the dock. It looked like it was made with a mix of wood and metal. The paint was chipped, some of the metal was rusted, and some of the wood showed signs of bowing. A majority of the boat was covered with a wooden canopy top that was attached to a small cockpit which was located towards the stern side. On the side of the boat were painted the words _Velho Confiável_.

“What does that mean?” Huey asked, looking at the words.

José shook his head with an unimpressed look. “Old Reliable. Let us hope the name fits the vessel.”

“Ah, primo! Aí está você!” A tan, fluffy rooster called from the end of the dock as he walked toward them. “Há quanto tempo! É tão bom te ver. Como está meu primo favorito?” The rooster, who was as large as Launchpad, scooped Panchito up into a bear hug.

Panchito squeaked as the air was squeezed out of his body. “Ay, ay, ay! Cuidado com minhas costelas, Paulo!” He grunted as he was dropped back onto the ground. “Estes são meus amigos americanos.” Panchito motioned a hand to the birds behind him.

“Ah, sinto muito, my English is not good.” The taller rooster apologized.

Panchito pat his cousin on the shoulder. “This is my cousin, Paulo. He’s the one lending us his boat.”

“Are we sure this boat even floats?” Louie said out of the corner of his mouth sarcastically.

Panchito threw his head back with a laugh. “What a kidder! Paulo here has assured me that this is the best boat around.”

The rest of the group looked at each other, none of them believing a word.

Paulo grabbed Panchito by the shoulder and pulled him slightly to the side. He started speaking quickly in his native language, leaving the duck family clueless. José didn’t seem fazed by whatever they were conversing about though. He just leaned back on his umbrella as he listened.

When Paulo stopped speaking, he handed Panchito a pair of keys. He gave the red rooster another hug, before making his way off of the dock. “Adeus, amigos de Panchito!” He called back as he passed the ducks.

“What did he say?” Donald asked with crossed arms.

“Oh, he was just saying that sometimes you have to give the engine a little kick to get it working. Also to watch out for piranhas, caiman, anacondas, and other animals.” Panchito said with an unworried shrug.

Everyone’s jaws dropped to the floor at the news. They all looked at each other with the same look of fear and surprise.

“Don’t worry, meu amigos, we will be safe on the boat.” José assured as he passed the dumbstruck ducks. “We also have these facões if we need them.” He reached his umbrella behind him to tap the machete that was strapped onto his backpack.

“That is if this bucket of bolts doesn’t sink first.” Scrooge said under his breath.

Donald was tapping his foot in frustration. “Okay, okay! Enough standing around.” He stomped over to Panchito and snatched the keys out of his hand. “Give me those! I can drive any boat.” He stepped onto the boat and went straight for the cockpit.

Everyone else followed suit, stepping onto the boat themselves. The boat struggled and sputtered as Donald twisted the key in the ignition. They all suddenly jerked forward as the boat sprang to life and started sailing down the river. They all took off their travel backpacks each of them had brought, placing them on the deck of the boat.

“Well, you lot might as well get comfy.” Scrooge said as he sat down in a chair that was on the deck along with a table and some other chairs. “We’re gonna be on this boat for a while.”

The kids huddled together quickly. They each looked at each other with determined faces. Huey rubbed his hands together. “Okay, let’s put our plan in motion guys. We all have a part to play so let’s get to it.” He said before they all put their hands together like a pep squad, and then split up across the boat.

Dewey slid over to Panchito who was towards the bow, leaning on the side and looking into the murky river. “Sooo,” Dewey started, “Panchito, right?”

Panchito raised a brow while chuckling, and turned his head to look down at Dewey. “That is right, pequeño. You are… Dewey, yes? How are you enjoying Brazil?”

“Yup, that’s me, Mr. Dewtastic himself.” Dewey said smugly as he pretended to pop a collar. “It’s been really cool so far, but I’m more interested in you.” He leaned his back against the wall of the boat. “So, you like my Uncle Donald?”

Panchito gave the little duck a confused smile. “Of course I do. He was and is one of my best amigos.”

“No I mean you like, like him.” Dewey winked, trying to make his point.

Panchito’s eyes widened as leaned up more. He felt his cheeks start to burn. “Is it that obvious, pequeño?”

“Well I wasn’t really sure until you just now confirmed me, my brother’s and Webby’s suspicions.”

Panchito barked with laughter as he gripped the side of the boat. “Your tío said you kids were smart!” He leaned in closer as he lowered his voice. “Si, pequeño, I like, like Donald. You… haven’t talked to him about it have you?” He asked with a slightly worried face.

“Oh, no. We just wanted to know for sure if you did.” Dewey shrugged nonchalantly. “Also, we think Uncle Donald is totally blind, and has no idea you like him.”

Panchito’s brows knit together and his eyes darted back and forth. His mind raced, turning the statement the little duck had made over in his head. The thought had never crossed his mind that Donald actually didn’t know that his advances were real and not just friendly flirtation or the like.

Back towards the middle of the boat, Scrooge was still sitting at the table, but Webby had joined him. Scrooge had pulled out a map and laid it out. He was leaned over with his head in his hand as he went over the map. He was using a pencil as a pointer as he followed the river that they were on.

Webby scooted her chair closer, while looking over the map as well. “So, Mr. McDuck, where do you think we’ll find this Culebrón?”

“Well, lass, these are the locations of the sightings that the locals told us about.” Scrooge pointed to some red circles on the map that indicated where people had supposedly seen the creature. “I would wager that here,” he placed an X on the map in the middle of all the red circles, “is where we’ll find our stingy reptile.” The place he had marked was dark green, which implied dense jungle terrain.

“Gosh, were going to have to go deep in the rainforest.” Webby glanced at the older duck. “Do you think it’s real? Do you think there’s treasure?”

“These people have to be seeing something. For all we know, it’s just some larger than life snake scaring the daylights out of these people.” Scrooge had a determined look on his face. “I’m not the richest duck in the world out of sheer luck, lassie. When there’s talk of treasure, there’s normally something worthwhile to be found.”

“That makes sense, I guess.” Webby thought it over as she agreed. “Well, what do you think would be the best route to reach that spot?”

Scrooge began to show her the way he thought they should travel. He lined their route with the pencil, and explained why each way was better or not. As he explained, Webby listened intently and gave her input when she had some to give.

Meanwhile, José had followed Donald into the cockpit. The parrot tried to show an air of confidence, but couldn’t help but show some underlying uncomfortableness. “So, Donald, how are you feeling?”

Donald only gave José a small glance as he kept his hands on the steering wheel. “A little better. Still kind of nauseous.”

José grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, my friend, álcool has never sat too well with you. I am glad you’re feeling better.” He snickered as he he wrapped an arm around the duck and squeezed him close. “It is so good to see you in Brazil again, Donald. This almost feels like one of our old aventuras!”

Donald rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but grin as well. “I guess it’s good to see you too, Joe.” He admitted in a reluctant tone. His eyes fell and he sighed as he started to nudge José’s arm off of his. “But, this isn’t one of our old adventures.”

José stepped away, reached a hand out as if to touch Donald, and then pulled away altogether. “You are right, Donald.” He scrunched his brows together as he fought with his own thoughts. Just as he opened his mouth as if to say something else, Louie walked into the cockpit.

“Hey, so, how’s the ship running?” Louie asked cooly.

Both of the other birds turned around to look at the little green clad duck. Donald cocked a brow suspiciously. “It’s fine. It’s not as good as my boat, but it gets the job done. What are you up to?” He asked while throwing quick glances at José, which he thought no one would notice.

Louie did notice though, and couldn’t help but smirk. “Oh, nothing. Just seeing how it’s going. Are you two lovebirds getting along?” He waggled his brow suggestively.

José gripped his stomach and laughed as he slapped his knee. “You are a funny pequeno pato! Periquitos you say? No, no, no, it is not like that. Your uncle has a thing for the ladies, no?” He kept laughing as he slapped Donald on the back.

Donald’s cheeks immediately flared bright red. “Oh, yup, that’s me.” He chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. He went to turn back around to grab the steering wheel, hoping to hide his face.

“W-Wait!” Louie called out loudly, startling the older birds. He could see Huey’s red hat right outside the window, going back and forth. “I, um, well…” His eyes darted to the side and he noticed a line of fishing poles hanging on one of the walls. “I was wondering if,” he slid over to the wall and grabbed one of the poles, “you could give us some fishing tips. Yeah, that’s totally what I came to ask.”

Donald looked at the fishing poles that he hadn’t even noticed were there. “ _You_ want to fish? You’ve never seemed interested in it before.” He put his hands on his hips as he made a skeptical face.

“Well, there’s not really anything else to do while we wait to get where we’re going. Figured might as well try it out.” Louie shrugged again and then shoved a pole into his uncle’s hand.

Donald looked down at the pole, then back at Louie. “If you really want to.” His mood seemed to perk up as he stood taller and a big grin spread across his face. His smile faltered slightly as he remembered he was supposed to be driving the boat. “But what about the bo-“

“Donald, the boat will be fine.” José cut in, putting a gentle hand on the duck’s shoulder. “It won’t hurt to let the river carry the boat for a while. Go, catch some peixe with your sobrinhos.”

Donald agreed and pulled the boat’s keys out of the ignition. They grabbed the remaining poles, walked out of the cockpit, and then back onto the deck of the boat. Everyone was still in the same spots they had been, and Huey was standing beside their pile of backpacks that was in front of the cockpit. Donald called all the kids over and led them to the front of the boat.

While Donald started teaching the kids about fishing, both José and Panchito sat down at the table with Scrooge. All three of them grew loving smiles on their faces when they saw how passionate Donald had become.

Panchito leaned onto the table as he set his cheek in his palm. He let out a content sigh while keeping his eyes on Donald.

José leaned back in his chair as he lit a cigar. He chuckled when he noticed Dewey getting wrapped up in some fishing wire. “Those crianças look like they could be quite the handful. I’m sure you and Donald have some wild stories from over the years, eh, Senhor McDuck?”

“Oh, I definitely have some crazy stories, but not from over the years. He and I… had sort of a falling out right before those boys were born. We only recently became a family again.” Scrooge kind of wriggled in his chair, obviously a little uncomfortable at the topic.

Panchito sat back up at the older duck’s words. “Qué? So, when Donald told us he has been a penniless, single parent all these years, he really meant it? Oh pobre Donald…”

The three older birds got downcast looks. They shared glances, each of them feeling waves of guilt. They tried to get it out of their minds as they continued to watch Donald and the kids.

In no time at all, a couple hours had passed. There were enough fish willing to bite their poles, which made sure that the children had been able to stay entertained. They didn’t have a way to cook any of the fish, so all the ones they caught, they just released back into the river. It had been a pleasant experience for everyone involved. Donald got to teach the kids something new, the kids themselves got to stay occupied while actually catching something, and the remaining adults got to revel in watching their impromptu adventure feeling like a fun family gathering.

Donald put a hand over his eyes as he looked at how far along the sun in the sky was. It was well after noon by now. “You kids can keep fishing if you want. I’m gonna get the boat started back up, which will probably scare the fish though.”

Donald waked back to the cockpit of the boat as the kids started putting their fishing poles down. Donald put the key in the ignition and turned, but was only met with the sound of the engine screeching disobediently. He tried a few more times but all it did was sputter some more. He started mumbling obscenities as he opened the hatch that led below deck, and to the engine.

On the top deck, the others could hear clanging and banging as Donald tried to get the engine to start. There was suddenly a much louder sound, followed by incoherent yelling. They were all about to rush to see what had happened, but Donald came stumbling back up the stairs onto the deck. He was hopping on one foot while grabbing the other with both hands.

“This hunk a junk is no good!” Donald yelled with a red face.

Panchito stepped forward with an apologetic look. “Mis disculpas amigo… We could always use the remo.” He grinned nervously as he grabbed a paddle from the side of the boat that was about half the length of the boat itself.

Donald grumbled as he stepped forward. He snatched the paddle out of Panchito’s hands, turned around, and headed back towards the cockpit. He forced everyone to duck in order to not get knocked over the head with the paddle. Donald went up a small ladder that lead to the boats canopy. He stood up there with a grumpy pout as he lowered the paddle off of the side of the boat, and began to row.

The kids all groaned, knowing that their journey just got ten times longer. They all slumped down in the chairs, with already bored looks on their faces.

Panchito looked down in thought, then back up as his eyes widened as an idea came to his mind. He nudged José and flashed a big smile at the kids. “Do you guys like música?”

“Well, yeah. Who doesn’t?” Louie asked sarcastically.

Panchito didn’t seem fazed by his answer as he ran over to their pile of bags. He pulled out the biggest bag of the bunch, which was shaped like a guitar, and that’s exactly what he pulled out of it. “I packed ahead, thinking we could all have a jam session.” He talked back to the others as he kept rummaging through the bag. “Your uncle, José, and I used to play music together all the time! So I brought some of my favorite instruments for you all to try.”

Panchito walked back over to the table and spread out some instruments. He had brought a pandeiro, one set of wooden claves, a wooden samba whistle, a small güiro, some maracas, and a set of castanets. “You can play whatever you want! There’s even enough for you, Scrooge!” Panchito chuckled as he walked back to grab his guitar.

All the kids, and even Scrooge, gathered around the table and examined the instruments. Webby grabbed the set of castanets with wide, excited eyes. “Mr. Carioca, which one do you want to play?” She asked curiously.

José grinned with a glint in his eyes. “Don’t you worry, mocinha, I brought my own.” He twirled his umbrella in his hands, earning confused looks from all the little ducks. “Panchito, you should begin playing first.”

Panchito smiled widely and positioned his guitar to where he could play it. “El gusto es mio, José.” The rooster waggled his brow at the parrot before letting out a deafening grito. He strummed all the strings a few times before he started to work the strings more precisely with his fingers. Before long, he was plucking the guitar to let out a catchy, upbeat tune.

José just rolled his eyes at Panchito’s antics, but couldn’t help but grin. He twirled his umbrella around once more before bringing the handle up to his beak. He started walking around Panchito as the sound of a flute emanated from his umbrella which made the little ducks gasp.

“Showoff!” Panchito whispered to José as the parrot whirled around him while snickering at the remark. “Come on, join us!” He encouraged the others as he kept playing his own instrument.

Up above them, Donald was still just paddling away. His brow was knit together as he still had a grouchy demeanor. He cursed himself as his tail feathers started to shake to the music playing below him. He could hear all the different instruments being played, and he was slightly surprised that they managed to sound good together. He groaned as he felt conflicted. Part of him wanted to jump down there and join his family in song, but the pride in him told him he should keep sulking.

Donald pulled the paddle up and laid it on the top of the canopy. He figured he could just take a peek. So, he got down on his knees and poked his head over the side. He kept one hand on edge and the other on his hat so it didn’t fall off of his head into the water. He immediately felt his grumpiness melt away when his eyes took sight of what was happening. Huey was stroking the güiro, Dewey was tapping the pandeiro, Louie was clacking the claves together, and Scrooge was shaking the maracas. Webby was dancing around fervently as she clicked the castanets in rhythm with everyone else. They were all managing to stay on beat decently well, minus some hiccups here and there.

Donald watched them for a bit with a warm smile. It made him happy to see his family and some of his oldest, best friends getting along so well. He started to stand up with the intentions of going back on deck, when suddenly there was a loud crash. The boat jerked to a stop, sending Donald flying off and into the dark water with a shocked scream.

Everyone on deck had been sent to the floor by the impact. They all grunted from the force of the fall. Panchito was the fastest to get back to his feet as he ran to the front of the boat. He noticed that they had collided with a bunch of rocks and logs that were connect to the bank of the river. The river had split in two but they had went right in between the two. He leaned over the side and noticed a giant hole towards the bottom of the boat with water gushing in.

“Uncle Donald!” All the kids yelled as they too ran to the side of the boat. They watched as the duck drifted down the river, further and further away from them.

Panchito ran and grabbed his bag. “José! El bote se está hundiendo! Necesito que agarres las bolsas y que saques a la familia Duck de aquí! Voy tras Donald!” He hollered quickly to José as he jumped onto the railing of the boat. He leapt from the boat onto the shore and took off running as fast as he could.

In the water, Donald was thrashing around. He was trying to swim in any direction, hoping to reach something, anything that would help. The current was too strong and just kept pulling him down the river. “Help! Somebody help me!” He called out as loud as he could. Water instantly filled his mouth and tried to get into his lungs. He had a coughing fit that didn’t stop as he kept being pushed under the water. His hands flailed around, looking for something to grab onto until he was finally able to latch onto a rock. The current kept pulling his body along. He frantically tried to grip the rock, but it was too slippery. He felt himself being drug away once again.

Back on the bank, Panchito was trying his best to keep up. He had managed to catch up to Donald, but was still having to run along the river to stay his speed. “Hang on, Donald!” He yelled as he reached into his bag, pulling a long piece of rope out before throwing the bag to the ground. He stretched the rope out, and it was then discernible as a lasso.

Once he had the lasso readied, he looked back up. He searched for Donald in the river, still running alongside the floating duck. He then looked up and audibly gasped when he noticed that there was no more river. It suddenly dropped off, plummeting down the side of a cliff. “Waterfall!!” Panchito screamed in panic as he tried to run even faster.

Donald perked up at those words. He kept trying even harder to grab onto to something, but he was moving too fast and everything was too wet. He felt his heart rate quicken even more when he realized there was nothing he could do. He was going to be pulled down that waterfall. He started screaming even more as he felt the water curve, and start heading downwards instead of straight. He put his hands together and started praying. He let out a surprised quack when he suddenly felt something wrap around his waist, roughly stopping his descent.

Donald could feel himself being pulled up the waterfall. Before he knew it, he was back in the river, being pulled through the water. He felt the bank of the river underneath his hands and then the rest of his body as he was drug through the mud. He started coughing and spitting out both mud and water while he sat up onto his hands and knees.

Panchito hurried over and fell to his knees. “Donald? Are you alright?” He asked as he started giving the duck a once over. He was placing his hands all over Donald like a mother checking a child for injuries.

Donald blinked in confusion as he watched Panchito fuss over him. His brow slowly furrowed before he briskly pushed the rooster away. “Stop that!”

Panchito gasped in surprise as he fell on his butt. He looked disheartened as he slowly stood up. “Lo siento, Donald.” He mumbled as he took a few steps back.

Donald felt his stomach knot up at Panchito’s hurt face, feeling immediate regret and guilt. He stood up as well, and opened his mouth. He was stopped from saying anything when he heard footsteps getting nearer to them, making him look in the other direction. His family, along with José, were running full speed towards them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations  
> Rosquinhas- donuts  
> Cómo te va- How are you doing  
> un pequeño problema- a little problem  
> té de poleo- pennyroyal tea  
> la resaca- the hangover  
> bote- boat  
> Ah, primo! Aí está você!- Ah, cousin! There you are!  
> Há quanto…. minha primo favorita?- Long time no see! It is so good to see you. How's my favorite cousin?  
> Cuidado com minhas costelas- Watch my ribs  
> Estes são meus amigos americanos- These are my American friends  
> sinto muito- I’m sorry  
> Adeus, amigos de Panchito- Goodbye, Panchito’s friends  
> Facões- machetes  
> Álcool- alcohol  
> Periquitos- lovebirds  
> Peixe- fish  
> Pobre- poor  
> Mis disculpas- My apologies  
> Remo- oar  
> Mocinha- little lady  
> El gusto es mio- my pleasure to  
> El bote se está…. aquí! Voy tras Donald!- The boat is sinking! I need you to grab the bags and get the Duck family out of here! I'm going after Donald!  
> Lo siento- I’m sorry


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a shorter chapter. It’s more of an emotional roller coaster of a chapter. I’m hoping I was able to write it to come off as emotional as I wanted it though! Anyways, I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Oh, I wanted to thank everyone who has left kudos and comments so far. It means so much to me, and I’m super glad people are enjoying this story!

“Donald, are you alright?” José asked worriedly as he came to a halt.

“I’m fine.” Donald said curtly while undoing the lasso that was still around his waist. When he untangled himself from it, he gently handed it over to Panchito.

Panchito took the lasso and started to fold it back up. “You should have seen it, guys! Donald went over the edge of that waterfall, and I caught him just in time!” He retold excitedly before latching the lasso to his belt.

José snorted scornfully. “None of this would have happened in the first place if it wasn’t for you and your estúpido cousin. That _boat_ was just an accident waiting to happen! We should have let a _real_ Brazilian handle the travel arrangements.”

Panchito scowled and took a step towards José. “This is not my fault! And you know that I was born in Brazil, José. I’m just as much of a part of this place as you.”

“Não é verdade. You grew up in México. You act as if you have a clue about Brazil just because your mamãe was born here. You could have gotten us all killed, just because you tried to act like you know how to traverse these jungles.”

“Don’t you say another word about my mamá!” Panchito stepped right up to José and stuck a finger in his face. “Listen here, tu loro arrogante, I was only trying to help! There was no way I could have known we would crash! My heritage has nothing to do with this mess. Besides, this isn’t some concurso to see who is the most Brazilian.”

José smacked Panchito’s finger out of his face. “If it was, I would serve your heart flambada on a platter!”

Donald got in between the arguing birds and pushed them away from each other. “What’s the big idea?!” He growled as he looked angrily between the two. “I almost died, and you two are arguing over nothing?!”

“Okay, lads, that’s enough.” Scrooge piped up. “All three of ye are actin like wee babes ya big numpties!” He grabbed his cane and walloped each of them on their heads. “We still have a treasure tae find. We’ve hardly made it into the jungle, so enough lollygaggin. _I_ am the one with a map, so _I’ll_ lead the way from now on.”

The children snickered at the looks on the three older birds faces. They were aghast, but also seemed as if they still wanted to argue.

Donald folded his arms over his chest with a pout. “I didn’t do anything…” He grumbled under his breath while rubbing his tender head.

No one said another word as the kids handed the others their backpacks. They then began their trek into the jungle, with Scrooge leading the way. Things were tense between Donald, José, and Panchito, and they didn’t speak while they walked. Every now and then, the kids would would ask José or Panchito questions about plants or animals they saw, or just about Brazil in general. They had been following Scrooge for a quite some time, when they all noticed that the sun was starting to dip below the trees. So, they found themselves on a cliff top that overlooked some of the jungle, and prepared to settle down.

Scrooge placed his bag on the ground, along with everyone else. “Well, we’ve had a long day. Might as well set up camp here for the night.” He pulled out a smaller bag out of his backpack.

“Hey, wait a minute. Where’s my tent?” Donald asked as he rummaged through his own bag.

“It appears mine is missing as well.” José said, with his own bag open in front of him.

“Mine too…” Panchito added.

The kids all had their hands behind their backs and were looking around innocently. Huey shrugged as he pulled something out of his own backpack. “Oh no. It looks like Uncle Scrooge and I are the only ones with tents.” He said in a monotone voice as the other children revealed that they too didn’t have tents.

“I guess that means you three have to share a tent.” Dewey shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Wait, what?!” Donald exclaimed with panic.

“You wouldn’t make Uncle Scrooge sleep with _your_ friends would you?” Louie asked with his hands on his hips.

Donald’s face boiled red with both embarrassment and anger. “Fine.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he tapped his foot on the ground. “I’m going to get some firewood.” He turned around and walked into the jungle.

José watched him disappear behind some trees. “I… will go with him to make sure he does not get lost.” He followed in the tracks of Donald, shortly finding the duck, who was picking up dead sticks.

Donald kept walking as he was picking up dead twigs. He saw José out of the corner of his eye, but just kept gathering sticks that he found. “Is there a reason you’re following me?” He asked as he bent down, picked up a stick, and then walked to the next stick he saw.

José sighed in frustration as he shook his head. “Is there a reason you are so,” he paused, furrowed his brow, and put a hand on his hip as he thought of the right word, “bitter?”

Donald’s body went rigid. His head snapped in José’s direction, and he had an almost crazed look in his eyes. He straightened up and took a step towards the parrot. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water before he just grit his teeth together, and started walking quickly in the other direction.

Jose’s eyes widened in worry and he hurried to catch up with Donald. “Donald, wait.” He said calmly as he reached down and grabbed his friend’s hand, stopping him in his tracks. “Meu amigo, you do not have to do this on your own. You can talk to me.” José pleaded, giving Donald’s hand a gentle squeeze.

Donald’s eyes went wide and they started to glisten. He clenched his free hand into a fist as his shoulders shook. “José…” He squeezed José’s hand back, then slowly pulled away. He kept his back to the parrot while he rubbed at his eyes. He proceeded to pick up sticks, without looking at José. “I’m not like you; I can’t just act calm and cool, like nothing is wrong.”

“I am not asking you to. I just feel like there is more to why you are so angry than you let on.” José started picking up sticks as well, throwing small glances at Donald.

“Oh, because being abandoned by your best friends for ten years isn’t bad enough?!” Donald snapped as his nostrils flared and he huffed.

“Você tem que estar brincando comigo.” José mumbled. “You act as if I stopped existing during those years!” He groaned, getting annoyed. “I have been through hardships too, Donald. We both seem to have turned out for the better, so why must you act like this?”

“Because I needed you!” Donald exclaimed as he suddenly turned to face José. He quickly covered his mouth in shock at his own blurted statement. He then growled, and waved a dismissive hand at José. “Whatever. Just… leave me alone.” He said in a strained tone as he continued his previous task.

José was blinking and his mouth agape. He reached a hand out, but pulled it back in. His shoulders slumped and he let out a long breath of air as if he was deflating. He turned around and headed back to their camp, defeated. He dropped his sticks one by one along the way, leaving a trail, until he reached the camp.

The others had already set up the tents, and dug a shallow hole for them to build a campfire. They were pulling logs and rocks around their designated fire pit. They could tell that José hadn’t had much luck, so they didn’t ask him anything. José just plopped down on one of the makeshift rock chairs with a sigh. He rubbed a hand down his face, earning a concerned glance from Panchito.

When Donald returned, he threw an armful of sticks haphazardly into the pit. His eyes were red and puffy. He sat down on one of the logs, then crossed his arms over his chest. He just stared at the ground, doing his best to avoid eye contact with everyone.

The sun was only a sliver by now, so Huey hurried and built them a campfire.

Once they were sitting around the fire, Dewey pulled out a sack from his bag. “Guess who brought stuff to make s’mores!” He said as he hopped in place excitedly. 

“Would… anyone like a song?” Panchito asked with a nervous smile as he grabbed his guitar bag.

“Ooh! Yes please!” Webby said, her eyes practically sparkling.

The other kids just nodded in agreement as they were getting ready to make s’mores. They had set out all the graham crackers and chocolate and were skewering marshmallows with metal rods, that Dewey somehow had kept in his backpack. Donald and José just kind of shrugged, both looking despondent. Scrooge gave a soft smile and nodded in affirmation.

Panchito’s brow furrowed as he looked at his two friends. He pulled his guitar up in a playable position. He tapped his chin in thought. He took a long look at Donald and felt a large smile break out across his face. He began strumming his guitar before he started singing _._

_“Tu perteneces a mi corazon_

_Ahora y siempre,”_

Donald’s eyes widened and mouth opened slightly as he quickly looked up at Panchito. He felt his cheeks heat up, and his eyes gained an affectionate look. His beak curled up into a smile.

_“Y nuestro amor tuvo su comienzo_

_No hace mucho.”_

José chuckled slightly and sighed. He leaned back on his rock while watching Panchito. He couldn’t help it when his own beak shifted into a fond grin. He felt his shoulders sag as the stress of the day melted away.

_“Estábamos reuniendo estrellas_

_Mientras un millón de guitarras tocaban nuestra canción de amor;”_

Donald let out a deep sigh as his eyes fluttered. He heard quiet snickering, and turned to see his nephews staring at him and grinning. He gasped and his whole body tensed up. He cleared his throat, regaining his composure, before he walked over to the boys. He began assembling his own s’more, but couldn’t help to keep looking at both José and Panchito from over the fire.

_“Cuando dije, "Te amo", cada latido de mi corazón también lo dijo.”_

Donald’s arms went slack, and his eyes wide as he blinked. Panchito was staring right into his eyes with a look of longing and adoration. The light of the fire danced, casting the birds in an alluring luminescence. Donald felt his heart speed up as he looked between Panchito and José. They looked otherworldly, and in that moment he felt a wave of feelings, that he thought he had successfully tucked away, come rushing back. His half made s’more slipped slowly out of his fingers and onto the ground.

“Uncle Donald, are you alright?” Huey asked quietly from Donald’s side.

Donald quacked loudly as he jumped back from Huey, causing Panchito to play a sour note that had everyone grabbing at their ears. Donald ducked his head down while raising his shoulders up with a sheepish grin. His entire face was flushed bright red. “I’m… I’m fine. Sorry, everyone.” He mumbled quietly. “It’s getting late; I’m gonna turn in.” He chuckled nervously as he pointed his thumbs at his tent before clumsily shuffling inside of it.

The other’s all looked at one another in confusion. They all kind of just shrugged it off, having become used to Donald’s antics. They sat around the campfire a while longer, making more s’mores and making small talk, until the fire died down. That’s when they all decided to go to their designated tents. Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby, and Uncle Scrooge went to one tent while Panchito and José went to the one Donald was already occupying.

The two birds just shook their heads and chuckled softly when they saw their duck friend. He had laid out their sleeping bags for them, and he was snuggled up in the sleeping bag that was placed in the middle. They couldn’t see his head, only the outline of his curled up body through the fabric. They both laid on either side of Donald and placed their hats above their heads.

The two were unknowingly staring at the tent ceiling, neither able to fall asleep. They laid there like that for about an hour until they heard Donald softly snoring.

José stirred when he heard the zipper to the tent being opened and closed. He sat up and looked over, noticing that Panchito had disappeared. He glanced over at Donald, who’s beak was barely poking out the top of the sleeping bag. José ran his fingers through the feathers on top of his head as an ambivalent look spread steadily on his face. He sighed softly, then unzipped the tent, heading outside. He closed the tent behind him, and looked up to see that Panchito had pulled one of the logs a ways away from camp. He had set it closer to the cliff edge and was sitting on it, watching the expansive jungle below.

Panchito didn’t even look over when he felt the log move from the weight of José sitting beside him. “Can’t sleep, eh?”

“I have too much on my mind.” José admitted. “I… wanted to say I’m sorry for the things I said earlier today. I’m especially sorry for bringing up your mamãe. She’s a lovely woman.”

Panchito looked over at José with a grin. “Esta bien. We’ve had worse fights.”

José chuckled nervously in response, and then sighed. “We didn’t used to argue. There was a time we were the best of amigos.” He reminisced as he glanced at Panchito. “What happened?”

Panchito let out a small bark of laughter. “We both fell in love with the same oblivious duck.”

José laughed softly as well. “Ah, that is true.”

“You know, I feel like an idiota. Donald does not even know how I feel about him.” Panchito bowed his head and frowned.

José scooted closer to the rooster and put a soft hand in the middle of his back. “It is not just you, amigo.” He looked up at the sky, the light of the moon washing over him. “I’ve always liked that song. I know it’s meant for Donald, but every time you would sing it, I could feel the love behind it. You always knew the best times to sing us that song. We could have been having a horrible day, but you would sing us that song and everything would seem alright. I… admire your passion, Panchito.”

Panchito sat back up, and turned his attention back to José. “Maybe Donald isn’t the only oblivious one.”

José raised a brow, quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“That song has always been meant for the both of you.” Panchito smiled warmly. “I think we both got caught up in trying to woo Donald, that we forgot how close we used to be. It became a competition that neither of us wanted to lose, but maybe we should have been playing the game as a team.”

José’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed bright red. He put a closed fist to his mouth and coughed, regaining his composure. “Donald doesn’t stand a chance against the two of us together. With your natural charm, and my suave, cunning, intellectual personality, we will help him see.”

Panchito gulped and hovered his hand over José’s knee. “Wait, does that mean…”

“What a group we are. Sim, meu amigo.” José rest his hand on top of Panchito’s. “I won’t deny that the feelings I feel for Donald, I share with you.” He sighed and squeezed the other’s hand. “You are right. I got blindsided. I wanted so badly to win Donald out from under you, I ignored how I felt for you as well.” José hesitantly looked up at Panchito and was taken aback by the look the rooster was giving him.

Panchito’s eyes were cartoonishly wide and glistening, full of emotion. He abruptly leapt forward, swiftly pulling José into his arms. He laid his chin against José’s back, while squeezing the parrot tightly. “You don’t understand how much that means to me…” If José could see him, he would see happy tears rolling down his beak.

José stiffened at the sudden movement and held his arms rigid, with his eyes wide. He could hear the raw emotion in Panchito’s voice. He blinked multiple times, and then got a guilty look. He slowly wrapped his arms around Panchito as well, and felt his own eyes become teary. “Panchito… I… Is this my fault? Am I the reason we stopped being so close? I know I can b-“

Panchito suddenly squeezed him tighter, shaking his own head. “No, no, no, amigo. No te golpees por eso. I’m as much to blame as you, José. Even Donald shares some of the blame, but we are here together now. No matter what happens at the end of this journey, I plan to keep it that way. We have spent too long apart. I’m done fighting and taking our relationship for granted.” He wiped the tears from his eyes, grabbed José’s shoulders, and then pulled back to look at him. “Also, maybe,” he grinned, “we could show Donald what he… what _we’ve_ been missing.”

José shot Panchito a debonair smile, causing the other to invisibly blush in shock at the parrot’s enchanting looks. José chuckled at the blissfully dazed look Panchito had. “Sim, meu amor, I agree.” José said softly.

Panchito’s heart raced at those words. He slowly slid his hands down Jose’s arms until he was holding both of his hands. His eyes flashed between the parrot’s eyes and his beak. “José… Puedo..”

Jose’s face softened and became tender. He freed one of his hands and placed it gently on Panchito’s cheek. He gradually leaned forward and pressed his beak against Panchito’s as he closed his eyes. The kiss was quick and sweet, only lasting a few seconds. When they pulled away from one another, their eyes twinkled and mouths turned up into loving smiles.

“Should we get some rest?” José asked, looking back towards the tent.

“Let’s stay like this a while longer.” Panchito never took his eyes from José.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To anyone who was curious, the song Panchito sings is You Belong to My Heart but just in Spanish.
> 
> Translations   
> Estúpido- stupid  
> Não é verdade- Not true  
> tu loro arrogante- you arrogant parrot  
> Concurso- contest  
> Flambada- flamed  
> Você tem que estar brincando comigo- You have got to be kidding me   
> Esta bien- it’s okay  
> no te golpees por eso- don’t beat yourself up over this  
> Meu amor- my love  
> Puedo- May I


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, another chapter! I had fun writing this chapter, even if it might be a little random. I hope you all enjoy it, nonetheless.
> 
> I’m thinking there might be two or three more chapters before this story comes to an end. I’m also already thinking of a sequel, so that might be something to look forward to.

The remainder of the night was quiet. Everyone slept soundly, even Donald. He hadn’t even realized he had spent the night alone in his tent. Through the night, Donald had somehow kicked his sleeping back off of himself. In his sleep, he had grabbed Panchito’s sombrero and wrapped his arms and legs around it, as if cuddling a large stuffed animal.

Donald stirred at the sound of the tent’s zipper being pulled. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes as he yawned. His cheeks turned red when he noticed he was gripping Panchito’s hat tightly. His head snapped back and forth, and he let out a sigh of relief when he noticed he was alone in the tent. He set the sombrero down before putting his own hat back on and slowly unzipping the tent. There were quiet voices coming from outside the tent. He figured he was already awake, so he might as well go check it out. It was still dark outside, but the sky was steadily growing brighter. The stars were still visible, but were growing dimmer as the sky started turning a lighter blue.

Panchito and José were standing a ways away from their camp. They were huddled around each other, and looking at something in Panchito’s hand. José had his hand covering his mouth as he chuckled, slightly leaning against the rooster.

Donald’s brow raised in confusion as he walked over to them. “You two are up early.” He stated shortly.

“Oh! Donald!” Panchito jumped in shock, nearly dropping the item in his hand. He quickly shoved it into his pocket. “Lo siento, did we wake you? I am an early bird, as you know, and I accidentally woke José as well.” He cleared his throat nervously and wrapped his arm around José playfully.

Donald’s eyes narrowed as he looked between the two. He noticed José’s shy smile and reddened cheeks. He also noticed Panchito holding onto José a little tighter than usual. “You two seem…” He gave them another once over, “buddy, buddy.”

José laughed and pulled away from Panchito. “Well, we _are_ friends, Donald. We also had a,” he glanced over at Panchito, then back to Donald, “talk last night. We came to a mutual agreement that there is no point in us fighting.” He smiled and made a motion as if to grab Donald, but stopped himself before actually doing so. “We were hoping that maybe the three of us could talk?” He asked with hopeful but unsure eyes.

Donald rolled his eyes and scoffed. “So, it’s just that easy, huh?” He grit his teeth together at the pleading looks the other two were giving him. “Ugh.” He growled and turned away. “It’s too early for this.” He walked past their camp, and stomped into the jungle.

José looked at Panchito worriedly before hurrying after their disgruntled friend. “Donald, wait!” José stumbled over an uplifted root, but felt a pair of hands on him before he was able to fall to the ground. He looked up to see Panchito looking down at him. “Obrigado…” He mumbled before straightening up, and tugging on his sleeves and the hem of his jacket.

Panchito glanced at Jose’s ankle, and smiled when he was satisfied nothing was sprained or broken. He looked past the parrot to see that Donald had kept trekking through the jungle. “Vamos. Our brash friend is going to get himself lost.” Panchito stepped around José and continued their pursuit of Donald.

They had been speed-walking after Donald for a few minutes, but still hadn’t caught up with him. José groaned in frustration. “Donald! You cannot just go waltzing into the jungle!” He called out while looking for any sign of their friend. “At least, not alone anyways! Just come back to camp with us, amigo!”

“Oh yeah?” They heard Donald’s voice call back to them from somewhere deeper in the jungle. “Watch me!”

All of a sudden, they heard Donald let out a blood curdling scream. The two stopped in their tracks, and looked at one another with wide eyes. They both felt the blood drain from their faces as they hurried off in the direction of the scream. Donald was still hollering and his voice got louder as they got closer. Both José and Panchito were calling out his name as they jumped through a bush that was in their way.

“Get me down from here!”

They stopped when they heard Donald right above them. When they looked up, they saw Donald hanging high in the treetops. He was trapped inside a net made out of vines. It was swinging back and forth wildly as he frantically waved his arms and legs around. “Don’t just stand there! Help me!” He yelled angrily before letting out a string of unintelligible noises.

“A booby trap? In the middle of the jungle?” Panchito pondered as his eyes followed the vine to its origin. “Don’t worry, Donald, we will get you down!”

“Uh… P-Panchito? I think we have a bigger problem right now.” José said quietly with a shaky voice from behind the rooster.

Panchito turned around to see what José was going on about, and let out a loud yelp when he was face to face with a spear head. He looked past the spear and then upwards to who was holding the weapon itself. It was a grey bird who towered over them, even taller than Launchpad. They had black beaks, paint on their faces, and their head feathers stuck out in a way that it almost looked like they had ears. Panchito also noticed that there was a large group of them, circling himself and José.

“What’s going on down there?! Get me down! This isn’t funny!”

The birds all looked at one another, and then up at Donald. They spoke to each other in a language that the other’s didn’t understand. One of them stepped forward and pushed Panchito to the side before swinging their spear. They cut the vine that was holding Donald up, sending the duck plummeting towards the ground. Donald screamed the entire way down. Before he hit the ground, the same bird reached out and snatched Donald out of the air.

“What the?” Donald peeked our from behind the vines around him to look at his supposed savior. “Put me down! Let me outta here!” He screeched as he swung his arms, as best as he could, at the enormous bird.

José and Panchito stepped towards the bird holding Donald, but were halted by spears being pointed at them from every direction. They watched as the one holding Donald grabbed the top of net and held him at a safe distance as they started walking away from them. They felt the spears poke into their backs and phrases muttered at them, seemingly telling them to follow.

“José,” Panchito whispered, “can you talk to these guys?”

“I can only understand some of what they are saying.” José muttered as he walked closer to Panchito. “They are speaking in an older dialect. I could try speaking with them, but-“ José was cut off as one of the native birds pushed him forward into Panchito.

“There’s no need to be rude!” Panchito grumbled as he pulled José in front of him, keeping his hands on the other’s shoulders. He could feel the tip of a spear in the middle of his back, prompting them forward.

They walked through the jungle until they came upon a small clearing. There was a ring of wooden buildings, and in the middle of them looked like a makeshift town square of sorts. There was a large bonfire, and more natives around it ,walking, working, or just going about their day. There was a low murmur that spread through the crowd as the small group walked into the village with the intruders in tow.

The one holding Donald stepped in front of the rest. He held Donald high, as if showing him off. He said something loudly and with conviction, shaking the captured duck slightly. There was a short silence before the rest of the tribe started to clap and jump around in joy.

“What did he say?” Donald asked with worry. As soon as he spoke, there was another roar of applause.

“Well…” José snickered but hid his laugh behind a cough. “If I heard correctly, it was something about finding the one with a voice like two rocks scraping together. It sounds like they were waiting for you, Donald.”

“I think he sounds more like an off key trumpet.” Panchito chuckled with José.

“They were waiting for me?!” Donald asked in wild confusion. He had been let out of the net and the tribespeople had brought out a large, adorned chair. He cautiously sat in it as a mischievous grin spread across his face. “Well, of course they were looking for me. These guys know a good thing when they see it!” He leaned back with his hands behind his head and crossed his legs. “Unlike some people.” He added snidely.

Panchito shook his head and gave an incredulous laugh. “Come on, I was only kidding!”

Donald waved his hand dismissively at the two. Immediately, the natives grabbed onto José and Panchito, throwing them into a wooden cage that was placed beside Donald. The duck barked with laughter as he looked down at them. “I could get used to this.” He leaned back in his chair and took a bowl of berries that was offered to him.

Panchito growled at Donald, but his face softened when he look at José who had landed in his lap. “Are you hurt, mi amigo?”

“I’m fine, Panchito.” José smiled and repositioned himself so he was no longer sitting directly in the rooster’s lap.

“So, why do these bozos think Donald is so important?” Panchito asked while watching their captors. They had left one right next to their cage, keeping guard, while the other’s were shuffling around. Some were doing things to pamper Donald, and other’s were scurrying around, gathering things for reasons unknown to the three.

“I think I heard something about a prophecy. It seems they believe Donald will bring them good fortune, or something like that.” José stated as he tried to listen in on some of the native’s conversations. “They keep saying something about a ritual.”

“I bet it’s a party in my honor!” Donald had his beak turned up condescendingly.

“Are you really going to let them keep us in this cage?” Panchito asked as he gripped the bars to the top of the cage.

“Hm. Let me think about it.” Donald paused as he looked up in mock thought. He leaned over his chair and looked down at Panchito before dropping a berry right on the rooster’s face. “Yes.”

Panchito pulled back and rubbed at his face where the berry had hit. He sat back down and hugged his knees to his chest with a grumpy look. He glanced at José who had his hand over his mouth, stifling his laughter. The sight caused Panchito to smile in return. His focus shifted when he noticed a couple of the natives speaking loudly and pointing towards them. “Uh, José?”

José turned around and looked where Panchito was. “They are talking about you and I. Also something about Donald.” He leaned forward, grabbing the bars as he listened. “They say we will… grant our power to Donald? Then, Donald will do the same for them?”

Panchito cocked his head to the side, confused. “Qué? What the heck does that mean?” He wondered aloud, only getting a shrug from José in response.

“I think it means you two have to lick my boots.” Donald chuckled and threw another berry into his mouth.

Panchito got back up and looked at Donald. “But you don’t wear boots.” He smirked at the furious look his comment drew from the duck.

“Ei, I do not think now is the time for this you two.” José backed up from the front of the cage, accidentally bumping into Panchito.

The native who had originally grabbed Donald, was heading straight for them. They threw the door open, reached inside, and grabbed José. They said something to José once they had him out, which made his face light up with fear. 

Panchito had tried to grab the parrot before he was pulled out, but was too slow and ended up face first into the bars of the cage. “José!” He reaches an arm out of the cage, still trying to grab his friend. “Donald, stop this!” He yelled as he went back to the top of the cage and shook the bars frantically.

“I…” Donald frowned and began to look worried. “I’m sure they’re just going to have him rub my feet?” He set his bowl of berries to the side and sat up in his chair.

José grunted as he was thrown to the ground. “Não, não, não!” He shook his head as he shuffled backwards on the ground. “Donald, they’re going to cook me!” He gulped as he was picked back up. “They said they’ll feed me to you, to make you more powerful, so that they can then eat you!”

“What?!” Donald exclaimed as he jumped up from his chair. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop!” He called out, causing all of the natives to freeze in their tracks. He sidled over to José and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him away from the much taller bird. “Heh… This is all a bit unnecessary now that I think about it.” He pulled José with him over to the cage. He blindly reached behind him, his hands searching for the clasp. “I’m, uh, honored to have been your… um, leader for a whole five minutes, but we really should be going.”

Donald finally got the latch open and Panchito stepped out behind him. “Glad you’re finally concerned for our safety, _amigo._ ” Panchito hissed in Donald’s ear.

“Hey, letting you be my slaves and letting you get eaten are two very different things.” Donald defended while glaring at Panchito.

“You two can bicker later!” José stepped between the two and motioned in front of them. “We are still in danger of being slow roasted on an open fire.”

“Okay, just…” Donald grabbed José and Panchito’s wrists and stood in front of them, “follow my lead.” He grinned nervously at the native who was currently towering over them, looking confused but angry. “Hey, so yeah… this isn’t working for me.” He slowly side stepped around the bird.

“It was nice meeting you all, but in all honesty the berries were just too sour for my liking. Now, we gotta go!” Donald took off running through the crowd, catching them off guard with the sudden movement. He drug the other two behind him, who both stumbled to keep up with the duck. Once Donald hit the tree line, he let go of their wrists and started running on his own as, not only his friends, but the natives were hot on their heels. He could hear the tribe yelling and calling after them.

They ran through the jungle, dodging trees and foliage alike. Every now and then, a rogue spear would come flying past their heads, and they’d change course to try to avoid any others.

“What in the blazes? Donald, what is happening?” Scrooge’s voice came from around an incoming tree.

“Run, run, run!” Donald hollered as he skid to a halt. He quickly scooped up all four children into his arms and kept running.

“What are ye goin’ on about?” Scrooge watched Donald dart back through the trees, Panchito and José following close behind. He turned to where they had come from and yelped in surprise when he noticed their assailants. He turned back around and quickly ran after the others.

“That looked like the people of the Gavião tribe!” Webby exclaimed from her spot in Donald’s arm, next to Dewey.

“You’re right, lassie!” Scrooge confirmed as he caught up to them, running alongside Donald. “Here, take these!” He tossed two of three backpacks he had been holding, to José and Panchito. “But they’re a mostly peaceful tribe! How on earth did you three manage ta tick them off?”

“Peaceful? Tell _them_ that, Señor McDuck!” Panchito called out from behind them as he slipped on his backpack.

“We can talk about this later!” Donald yelled as he dodged another spear. He threw an angry look behind him.

“Uncle Donald, look out!” Louie screamed.

Donald looked back in front of him and squawked in fearful surprise. He noticed that they had run out of jungle, but more importantly ran out of land. He quickly pressed his heels to the ground, skidding across the ground. He dropped the kids when he realized he had too much momentum built up.

The kids grunted as they hit the ground, and then all yelled in shock as they watched Donald disappear over the cliff edge. They hastily stumbled over to edge with big, worried eyes. They all let out sighs of relief when they saw Donald hanging from a rogue branch poking out of the cliff side.

Donald dared not look down, but something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked over and saw a dilapidated, wooden bridge crossing the ravine he was currently hanging precariously over. He looked back up at the children, who were looking down at him. “Kids! Get across that bridge!”

“But Uncle Donald-“ Huey began, leaning over the precipice, too close for Donald’s comfort.

“Go! Now!” Donald exclaimed as he climbed up onto the branch.

The kids all looked unsure, but obeyed. They could hear the tribesmen shortly behind them along with the other three adults in their company. Scrooge came running up behind them and watched them run the other direction before he leaned over the cliff to look at Donald.

“Donald! Are you okay?” Scrooge asked, looking back and forth between his oldest nephew and his younger ones.

“I’m fine! Go help the kids!” Donald was gripping at rocks, looking for a good foothold to hoist himself back up.

Scrooge nodded and took off after the kids. They had reached the bridge, but were standing at the start of it. They were staring at the worn ropes and rotted wood that made up the majority of the bridge. “Come on, kids!” Scrooge encouraged as he started to usher the little ducks across the questionably swinging bridge.

Panchito and José came bursting out of the jungle next. They looked over at the rest of the duck family, but immediately noticed Donald wasn’t with them. Panchito fell to his knees and looked over the edge. “Amigo, we do not have time for this!” The rooster grit his teeth, the angry mob of natives getting steadily louder behind them. He got down on his stomach and reached his long arms down towards Donald.

As soon as Donald grabbed onto the other’s hand, rocks came out from under his feet and his entire weight burdened Panchito. The cliffside under Panchito crumbled, and he felt his own body start to fall forward. “Uh oh…” Panchito mumbled as he felt his body tip downwards.

Before they were able to plummet to their deaths, Panchito felt hands grip around his ankles. He looked back and noticed José holding onto him, making a scrunched up face as he struggled to pull them both up. When Panchito had been pulled up enough to be able to get on his knees, he then lifted Donald back onto stable land.

José squeaked when a spear went flying past his head. “We need to go!” He announced as he began running towards the bridge, the other two following swiftly behind him.

Panchito zoomed past the other two, making it to the bridge before either of them. “Come on, come on!” He ordered, motioning for them to cross before him, with Donald gladly complying. “José, wait.” He stopped José and pulled out a machete from the side of his backpack. “Okay, go!” He gently shoved the parrot onto the bridge.

“What are you doing?” José asked as he hesitantly started walking across the rickety bridge.

“You’ll see, just hurry or they’re going to catch up!” Panchito cried out, making the parrot quicken his pace. He turned his gaze to the natives who were promptly closing the distance between them. He squealed when he noticed just how close they were. “There’s no time.” He mumbled to himself as he stepped onto the bridge. “Hold on!” He yelled to his friends as he brought the machete over his head and swung it down, cutting the ropes that kept the bridge suspended.

They all screamed as the bridge fell, heading straight for the cliffside. They barely had time to grab onto anything they could get their hands on before the bridge smacked harshly against the rocky cliff. The impact caused José to lose his grip and go flying downwards off of the bridge.

Panchito managed to grab his arm as he flew past him. The added weight made the board he was holding onto creak and crack, threatening to snap completely. Panchito let out a strained grunt as he lifted José with one arm, onto his back. “Hold on tight.” He commanded as he reached for the next board up. He let out a cry of surprise as a spear landed right above his head, piercing the bridge. He grabbed onto it and used it to help pull them further up.

Above them, Donald had already climbed up the bridge and onto the adjacent cliff top. His eyes darted to his family behind him, his friends below him, and the angry natives across from him. He watched as they kept throwing spears towards them, most of them falling into the unknown depths below. “Unless you wanna be skewered, I suggest you hurry up!” Donald cupped his beak with his hands as he called down.

Donald went stiff as a board when he felt a rush of air pass right by his face. The blade of a spear brushed his face, nicking his cheek, before imbedding itself in a tree behind him. He took a sharp intake of breath and let out a wild, panicked scream as he flailed his arms around and ran into the jungle behind him. The sudden noise stopped the tribesmen from continuing their barrage of spears, giving the two on the bridge a much needed chance to climb up.

Donald had ran right past his family and further into the rainforest. He had taken refuge behind a tree and was sitting on the ground, gripping his chest as it frantically rose and fell. His eyes went this way and that, searching for signs of any more danger. He flinched when his family walked past him.

“Uncle Donald it’s just us.” Dewey said nervously while trying to sound reassuring.

“Easy, lad. We’re safe now.” Scrooge said calmly as he reached down and pulled Donald to his feet.

Donald chuckled as he rubbed his arm and kept his eyes towards the ground. “Y-Yeah…” He looked back up and at his family one by one, secretly searching for injuries or the like. “Wait, where are José and Panchito?”

“We’re here.” Panchito responded as both he and José stepped out from behind some trees. “We were watching to make sure those salvajes didn’t try to follow us.”

“Donald!” José exclaimed suddenly as he rushed towards the duck. “You’re hurt!” He grabbed Donald’s neck gently and turned it to the side. He observed the cut along Donald’s cheek, which was trickling a small amount of blood down his face. José’s brow knit together with worry as he used his thumb to wipe the dripping blood.

“I dinnae understand!” Scrooge proclaimed. “The Gavião people aren’t known ta attack on a whim. Why, I was here years ago and they threw me a grand feast!”

Donald’s eyes had went wide, but not from his Uncle’s statement. José’s face was only inches from his own as he looked at the cut on his cheek. His face started to heat up as he accidentally made eye contact with the parrot who began to caress his cheek in a different way that showed he was no longer inspecting the cut. 

They were cut out of their daze when Huey suddenly grabbed José’s arm and pulled him away. “You can’t touch the wound! You’ll cause it to get infected!” He grabbed Donald’s arm and pulled him to sit down on a nearby rock. “Sit. I need to clean and bandage it.” He demanded as he pulled out a first aid kit from his backpack.

“Desculpa…” José threw his hands up and shrugged while grinning sheepishly. 

“Well,” Louie cut in, “if those guys were so peaceful, why did they try to kill us?”

Panchito stepped next to José, placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. “José said they had some kind of prophecy with Donald in it. They were going to…” He pulled at the collar of his jacket and gulped, “cook and eat us.”

“Ye’ve gotta be kidding me!” Scrooge slapped a palm to his forehead in disbelief. “I cannae believe it. Those buggers remembered that after all these years?” 

“Remembered what?” Dewey asked.

Scrooge’s cheeks turned a mild pink and he anxiously rubbed the back of his head. “Well, I ran inta the Gavião while on one of my solo adventures here. I may have offered a phony prophecy in exchange for a priceless jewel in their possession, and that prophecy may or may not have included your Uncle Donald. But I didnae tell them ta eat him!”

“What?!” Donald fumed as he shot up from his seat on the rock, now having his cheek properly bandaged. “You crazy, old man!” He leapt at Scrooge and grabbed the collar of his coat.

Scrooge slapped his cane at Donald’s wrists, making the angry duck let go. “How was I supposed ta know you’d end up in the exact same spot of the Amazon Rainforest as them? It was years ago! I figured they would have just forgotten about it over time.” He scratched at his chin. “In hindsight, it might not have been the smartest thing ta do, but… Well, it’s over now!”

Donald’s eye twitched. He still had his hands up as if he was about to strangle the life out of his Uncle. He balled his hands into fists and stiffly placed them at his sides. “You know what? I’m done.” He threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “I’m not cut out for adventuring. I’m going home. You all can find the treasure on your own.”

“But Uncle Donald!” Huey, Dewey, and Louie exclaimed in unison. They all looked at him with sad, puppy dog eyes.

“What do you mean you’re not an adventurer?” Webby asked. “You, Uncle Scrooge, and Della Duck went on expeditions all the time, didn’t you? You three went on the craziest adventures; why would you quit now?”

Donald was taken aback at the mention of his sister. He looked at the children in front of him, each looking at him with pleading eyes. His heart tightened as he saw his sister in each of his nephews. “I…” He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked away from them. “I suppose I can stay.” He grumbled as his shoulders slumped downwards. “I don’t know how I’d make it home, anyways.”

The kids cheered in triumph and wrapped their little arms around Donald. They gave him one big squeeze before pulling away. They didn’t notice the stray tear that the older duck quickly wiped away.

“Oh, we brought these.” Dewey remembered as he dug through his bag. He pulled out two familiar hats along with an umbrella before throwing them to their designated owners.

“Gracias, pequeño.” Panchito winked and slipped his sombrero back onto his head while José did the same with his own hat.

“With that mess cleared up, we should get going. The day is still young, and we’re closing in on our destination!” Scrooge proclaimed with a raised cane as he began to walk back into the jungle.

Donald threw his head back and groaned. This particular journey felt like it was never going to end. He wasn’t sure what would be waiting for him when this was all over. He watched as José and Panchito walked with the kids, retelling the events that the children hadn’t been present for. He unconsciously grinned when he noticed how excited, passionate, and genuinely happy all six of them looked. He bit his lip and frowned as he realized he was actually kind of scared for this adventure to end. That is, if he managed to make it out of this jungle in one piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations  
> Obrigado- thanks or thank you  
> Vamos- let’s go  
> Ei- hey  
> Salvajes- Savages  
> Desculpa- Sorry
> 
> I don’t know why below these notes, it shows notes from the first chapter. I’m not sure how to fix that, if anyone else even sees it, so I’m sorry about that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 everybody! 
> 
> I don’t have much to say other than there will be at least one more chapter, and then possibly an epilogue. It’s crazy that this story is coming to an end! Although, I already have ideas for a sequel, so it most likely isn’t ending entirely. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

After the whole being chased by an angry, mislead tribe, the crew continued on their journey through the rainforest. Scrooge had assured the group that they were nearing the location he had pinpointed on the map. He estimated that it would be a days walk before they reached it. So, that’s what they did. They walked with the thrill of treasure and adventure fueling their every step.

Donald had slightly fallen behind, still showing disinterest in the whole endeavor. He sped up when he noticed that the children along with his two friends had stopped, and were huddled together. They were all chuckling quietly, unaware that Donald was standing over them with his hands on his hips and his foot tapping the ground impatiently. “What’s so funny?” He asked, causing them all to jump and disband in surprise.

Panchito fumbled with something in his hand, before hiding it behind his back. “Oh, uh, it is nothing, amigo.” He gave the duck a nervous, toothy grin. “José here was just telling us a joke. Isn’t that right?” He nudged José in the arm with his elbow.

“I was?” José tilted his head in confusion before Panchito glared at him with wide eyes. “Oh, sim! I was!” He rubbed his chin and then his eyes lit up. “Have you heard the one abou-“

Donald raised a hand up, halting the parrot mid sentence. He then put the same hand out towards Panchito with his palm up. “Give it.”

Panchito sighed and bowed his head. He pulled his hand out and placed the item he had tried to hide in Donald’s outreached palm. He then put both arms behind his back and rocked on his heels uncertainly.

“Your phone?” Donald asked incredulously, starting to feel annoyed. He took a sharp intake of breath when he raised the phone to his face to see exactly what had been so bad that they hadn’t wanted him to see. It was a picture of himself. It was a dimly lit, but he could tell that it was him in their tent from earlier that morning, snuggling Panchito’s hat. His face burned scarlet from the tip of his beak to the top of his cheeks. “You took a picture of me while I was sleeping?!” He raved while roughly shoving the rooster’s phone back towards him.

“Don’t be mad at Panchito, Donald.” José bargained, stepping in front of Panchito. “He was checking in on you because I asked him to.”

“And when I saw you all curled up like that, I had to show him.” Panchito pleaded, peaking out from behind José like a terrified child. “You just looked…” A sudden grin spread across his face as he seemingly realized something, “so adorable, mi vida.” His demeanor softened as he stepped out from behind José and grabbed Donald’s hand. “Can you blame me?” His voice became huskier. He bent down slightly and kissed the top of the duck’s hand.

Donald felt like he was melting. His heart was racing and his knees were weak. He snatched his hand away from Panchito’s and took unsure steps backwards. “Why are you being so nice to me?” He averted his eyes from the rooster. He didn’t know if he could take looking at that sweet smile any longer. “I… I’ve treated you horribly. I almost got you two killed.” Donald sputtered, a pained look on his face.

The kids all looked at each other. They all nodded in silent agreement before slowly backing away from the other three. They turned tail and ran after Scrooge, but not before Louie gave José a knowing wink.

José’s chest puffed up as he was filled with motivation. He reached forward, grabbed Donald’s arm right above his elbow, and pulled him to his chest. He used his other hand to press on the duck’s lower back, keeping him close. “Oh, amado, we could not stay mad at you.” He chuckled, thinking Donald looked like a deer caught in headlights, albeit, a very cute one. “Besides, I do not think you would have truly let anything bad happen to us.”

Panchito placed a hand on one of José’s shoulders and then his chin on the other. “José, mi querido, I think we are embarrassing him. Solo mira eso lindo cara.” He grinned as he stepped to the side of them and placed a hand on both of their backs. “But, this life is too short to live with regrets. Don’t you agree, Donald?”

Donald blinked, staring wide eyed at the two birds before him. He became hyper aware of all the senses around him. José’s suit was lightly rubbing the feathers that had become exposed from his own clothing riding up. Panchito’s coquettish voice tickled his ears, sending shivers down his spine. The gentle pressure of the two hands on his back were holding him as if he was more precious than anything those hands had touched before. He could feel every breath leave Jose’s mouth and softly kiss his cheek. He noticed both of their beaks were slightly tinged red, and they both looked at him with the same loving, half-lidded gaze they had given him many times before. Only, now, he was truly beginning to understand the depth of their words and actions.

Donald abruptly pushed the other two away, stumbling backwards. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” He ran a hand over his beak as if he could wipe away the shy blush and nonplussed look plastered on his face.

“Uncle Donald, you have to come see this!”

“Oh, it looks like the kids need me!” Donald feigned an apologetic look, thankful for the distraction, while easing his way past the other two. Once around them, he took off like a bat out of hell after the others.

“Maldición!” Panchito threw his head back and groaned. “We were so close!” He whined as he plopped his forehead down onto José’s shoulder.

José let out a breathy laugh. “I think Donald just needs some time. He will come around, eventually.” He rubbed Panchito’s back gently and then moved his sombrero to the side to kiss the top of his head. “We cannot force this upon him, though.”

“I know. I just want him to know how much he means to me… to us.” Panchito repositioned his head and looked up at José with wide, glistening eyes that overflowed with emotion. He had his bottom lip poked out and it quivered slightly, making him look like a child whose ice cream had just fallen to the ground.

Jose’s own eyes widened and he put his hand to his mouth as he started snickering. His eyes started to squint as his beak curled up into a wide smile. He soon broke out in full laughter as he gripped his sides. When he managed to slow down his laughter, he wiped away tears from the corners of his eyes with the ball of his hand.

“What’s so funny?” Panchito wondered as he crossed his arms and pouted.

“You talked about how cute Donald is, but look at you.” José placed a gentle hand on Panchito’s cheek. “Você é tão adorável, minho querido.” He walked past the rooster, trailing his hand across his cheek as he passed. “Come on, we should catch up with the others.”

If this were a cartoon, Panchito’s heart would have literally been beating out of his chest. Instead, he watched José walk away with a dreamy, love struck look on his face. He shook his head, breaking himself from the daze, remembering they were in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. He hurried after José and grabbed his hand as they both followed in the duck family’s footsteps.

They both gasped in awe at the view in front of them. There was a sparkling waterfall cascading into a small pool. It was surrounded by tall rocks, lush greenery, and blooming flowers.

“It’s a jungle oasis!” Webby stated the obvious with unmatched enthusiasm.

“Can we go swimming?!” Dewey asked as he rummaged through his bag, along with the other kids. They all pulled out their own swimsuits, having obviously planned for this contingency.

“I don’t know kids…” Donald rubbed the back of his neck and stood at the bank of the pool, looking into the water cautiously.

“Oh, I think we could take a wee break. This trip did start out as a vacation of sorts.” Scrooge replied as he winked at the kids.

Donald placed his fists on his hips and glared at his own uncle. “And if one them gets bit by a snake? What then?”

“Uncle Donald, watch this!” Dewy called, drawing everyone’s attention to him. He had changed into swim trunks and climbed onto one of the taller rocks. “I call this the Triple Sixty Flippedy Dew Da!”

“Triple sixty? That’s only one-eighty, though.” Huey mumbled.

“Waak!” Donald cried out in panic before rushing towards Dewey. He climbed up the rock and ran towards his nephew with intentions of grabbing him. Instead, he slid on the slippery rocks, passing right past the little duck. He wailed as he was suddenly in the air, and then being plunged into the water below.

Donald broke out of the water with angry yells. He swam a short ways before he could stand in the shallow part of the pool. He shot a look at Dewey who was grinning nervously. Donald sighed and ran a hand down his beak. “It’s deep enough, just be careful.”

Dewey pumped his fist in the air victoriously. He was shortly joined by the other kids who seemed just as ecstatic to jump in as him. They leapt into the water one by one, each bringing their own flair. They swam to the shallows with Donald, all with happy smiles on their faces.

“Ooh, we should play chicken!” Webby offered as she jumped up and down in the water.

“That sounds like my game, patita!” Panchito jumped into the water, wearing swim trunks that he must have put on while everyone was preoccupied, and scooped Webby up, placing her on his shoulders.

“We’ll see about that, amigo!” José contended, stepping into the water with them. “Who wants to be my partner?”

“I do, I do!” Dewey practically leapt onto the parrot’s shoulders.

“You two brought swimsuits?” Donald asked incredulously.

“What? You never know what you will need in the jungle, no?” José smirked, staring down his competition.

“Come on, Uncle Donald, we can beat them!” Huey tugged at Donald’s jacket.

Donald hoisted Huey up onto his shoulders. “Uncle Scrooge? Louie?”

“I’m good, lad.” Scrooge had found a leaf that was bigger than his whole body, and had managed to create a makeshift hammock between two trees.

“Ooh, yeah, I’m with Uncle Scrooge on this one.” Louie shrugged and shuffled out of the water before beginning to make his own hammock.

“No mercy!” Webby yelled out a battle cry, and Panchito joined her with his own grito.

They spent a majority of the day at the jungle oasis. They splashed around and played all sorts of games. Panchito and Webby shared passion and zeal, winning most of the competitive games. José had proved to be exceptionally good at Marco Polo. Donald had even tried to pull out all the stops, but still ended up last in whatever they played. Huey had to keep reminding everyone that they were just having harmless family fun whenever things seemed to get too competitive. Nonetheless, they had an exciting day that kept their minds off of the previous perils they faced, and the ones that were sure to come.

“I hate ta be the ol’ stick in the mud, but that treasure isn’t going ta find itself.” Scrooge reminded them, cutting their fun in the sun short.

The kids all groaned in protest. They hung their heads low and trudged out of the water, looking miserable.

“Oh, crianças, don’t be like that.” José soothed, following them out of the water. “I am sure we will get to do something like this again.”

“Si, perhaps, José and I could visit you all in America after this!” Panchito offered, tussling Huey’s hair as he passed.

Donald gulped when everyone looked at him expectantly. “Oh, uh, well… I guess it wouldn’t hurt for them to come visit.”

The kids collectively started murmuring excitedly. They began coming up with ideas and plans for the future, while they changed back into their normal clothes. The adults followed suit, and once everyone was dried off and clothed, they began their journey again. The kids started out with vigor, eager to get closer to their goal, but as the sun started to dip below the trees, they became more sluggish.

“Ugh, how much longer do we have walk?” Louie grumbled, trailing behind the rest of the group.

“If we want any chance of reaching the heart of the sightings tomorrow, we need ta press on a bit.” Scrooge told them begrudgingly.

“We’ve been walking forever!” Dewey groaned as he leaned on Webby, almost knocking her over.

“But this is what makes adventuring fun!” Webby shook Dewey excitedly. “The sores on our feet are like souvenirs, reminding us of all the fun we’ve had!”

“Well, I think a real souvenir, like a snow globe or something would be preferable.” Huey was rubbing the heel of his foot.

“Well, patitos, I have two arms and a back if anyone wants a ride.” Panchito offered as he got down on one knee and spread his arms wide.

Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s eyes lit up. “Here, Uncle Donald!” The boys said as they threw their backpacks at their uncle. Then, Huey and Louie jumped into Panchito’s arms, and Dewey jumped on top of his backpack.

“Panchito you don’t have to do that.” Donald gave his nephews a scolding look.

Panchito chuckled as he stood back up. “It’s fine, Donald. They are lighter than they look.” He winked at the kids, earning soft giggles.

José grinned, watching Panchito with a soft expression. “What about you, mocinha? Need a lift?”

Webby put her hands behind her back and twirled around bashfully. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t mind walking.”

“Come on,” José shifted his backpack so he was wearing it on his chest, “I do not mind.”

Webby thought about it for a second. She seemed to come to her own conclusion as she hopped onto José’s back.

Donald stood still as his two friends, holding the children, continued on their way. His heart felt full as the corners of his eyes stung with threatening tears. Besides himself, he had never really seen anyone be so understanding and gentle with his nephews. Even most babysitters quit just after one visit. It filled his heart with joy to see his two oldest friends treat his family with such kindness. He got a dreamy grin on his face as he realized a majority of the people he cared about most in this world were standing with him in this jungle. He clenched the fabric at his chest, balling it into his fist. There were so many thoughts and emotions going through his head, he feared he would never sort through them all.

Scrooge placed a hand on Donald’s back, pulling his nephew out of his stupor. “You have some good friends there, lad.”

Donald hummed in agreement and grinned. His smile faltered as he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He had been so insistent on believing that those two were, in fact, horrible friends. Deep down, he knew how wrong that was. He knew that he was mostly to blame for how their friendship had ended. So much had been thrown at him, and it was so easy to believe that the world and everyone in it was out to get him. It hadn’t occurred to him until this moment that maybe he had sabotaged himself.

“You should talk with them.” Scrooge said quietly as he nudged Donald gently.

Donald glanced at Scrooge and his brow furrowed as his eyes darted around in thought. Maybe it had been too long living in this constant state of wondering what could have been and missing what was. There was no point in punishing himself for things that had already happened and were no longer in his control. He looked back at the older duck, smiled softly, and nodded.

Then, Donald hurried after the others in their group. They had gained some distance in between them in the short time that he had stood there stuck in his own head. What he saw made him feel even more sure of his previous line of thought. The kids had fallen asleep in their carrier’s arms. They somehow looked even smaller than they were as they lay curled up in Panchito’s arms, and latched onto both of their backs. Donald knew that this, here and now, mattered more than any of his petty and immature reasons to stay closed off or mad at his friends.

Donald noticed that Dewey was starting to slip off of Panchito’s back. So, he dropped the boy’s backpacks, rushed forward, and grabbed his nephew before he was able to completely fall off. The small duck groaned, but didn’t wake up. Donald gained a loving smile when Dewey just curled up against his chest. He wasn’t sure the last time his nephew’s had been so tired that he was able to hold one or all of them in such a manner.

“Aw, the wee bairns are all tuckered out.” Scrooge murmured as he came up behind the others, holding the backpacks Donald had dropped. “Well, I guess here’s as good a place ta stop as any.”

There was hardly any light left, so they had to work quickly. Donald grabbed Webby while José and Scrooge set up their two tents. They prepared them just in time as it become almost nearly impossible to see. The most light they had was that of the moon, but even it was obscured by the tall trees around them. Scrooge found some small lanterns to help them see where they were going. Donald and Panchito gently placed the kids in the tent before saying goodnight to Scrooge and heading to their own tent.

José had already set up their sleeping bags and turned on one of the lanterns for them to be able to see.

Donald and Panchito got on top of their designated sleeping bags, with Donald in the middle.

“Durmam bem, meus amigos.” José said with a charming smile as he turned the lantern off.

“W-Wait…” Donald reached over and turned the light back on. “I’m not ready to go to sleep just yet.”

Panchito and José shared looks, noticing Donald’s demeanor. He was keeping his eyes averted from them and fidgeting with his fingers. They both scooted closer, and sat more in front of him than to the sides of him. They gave their duck friend imploring looks.

“You guys are really good with kids.” Donald started out. He smiled at them weakly with his brows slightly furrowed.

“Well, I do have two sobrinhos of my own.” José chuckled while reaching into his pocket. He brought out a wallet which he flipped open letting a string of photos flop out. “This is Zico and Zeca.”

Donald grabbed the pictures softly, getting a good look at each one. The two little parrots resembled José greatly, and they looked just about as rambunctious as his own nephews. It reminded him how much he had missed of his friends’ lives in these past years.

“Aw, they’re cute.” Panchito said with his head tilted as he also looked at the pictures. “Like you.” He added, causing the larger parrot to blush.

José coughed and then folded his wallet back up before putting it back in his pocket. “What about you, Panchito?”

“Oh, I have a pretty big familia, so I’ve had my fair share of little ones.” Panchito snickered, remembering some of the larger family gatherings he had been to where all the children would flock to him. “They just seem to really like me!” He shrugged, showing he wasn’t really sure why that was the case.

Donald’s eyes had grown enormous and teary eyed. He rubbed at his beak and sniffled miserably, inducing extremely worried looks from the other two birds. Before they could ask him what was wrong, he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the both of them. He kept his head down towards their chests as he squeezed the two around their waists.

“Donald, what is wrong?” José asked with concern while placing a hand on Donald’s back. He began to slowly rub circles in a soothing manner.

“I… I’m sorry, guys.” Donald clenched his eyes shut and sniffled some more. “I’ve been a jerk. This is all my fault.”

“What are you talking about, amigo?” Panchito wondered, feeling his heart break with every pitiful noise the duck made.

“Us.” Donald said shortly, his voice becoming more muffled as he buried his beak in their chests. “It’s my fault we haven’t seen each other in so long. I wanted to hate you two, to act like none of it was my fault. It was easier to feel like you abandoned me, but it was always me. I know we can’t regain the years we lost because of how I pushed you two away.” He sighed as he pulled away from them. His eyes were shining, still threatening to flood over like an opened water gate.

“I just… I don’t want to lose you again.” Donald’s voice cracked and his lower lip shook. “So, can we be friends again?”

José and Panchito darted forward and scooped Donald up into a two sided bear hug. They made Donald squeak as they embraced him rather tightly.

“Of course, amigo!” Panchito’s voice hitched in his throat as he held them both close.

“We never stopped being your friends, Donald.” José said calmly before looking up at Panchito. He gave him a soft, caring, and somewhat relieved look, which the rooster reciprocated.

Donald pulled his head back slowly and watched his friends. He noticed the way they looked at each other and he felt a twinge in his stomach. “So… are you two… together?” He moved out from their grasp and put his legs into his sleeping bag.

José looked at Panchito who gave him a reassuring smile. He gained his own grin, then looked back at Donald and gave him a nod. “I’d say we are, yes. Although, we still have a lot to figure out.” He reached over and grabbed Panchito’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

“You know…” Panchito brought his hand to his chin while using the other to hold that arm up. “They do say good things come in threes.” He smirked and waggled his brow suggestively in Donald’s direction.

Donald stiffened and his face turned beet red. “Heh, heh… Yeah.” He chuckled nervously before suddenly grabbing the lantern. “Well, we have a long day tomorrow; I’m going to hit the hay. Goodnight!” He spoke incredibly fast, and when he finished, he turned the light off and hid inside of his sleeping bag.

“Goodnight.” They both said while Donald could hear them shuffling around. They both were laughing quietly before they went silent and were in their own sleeping bags.

Donald was curled up in a little ball, clutching his chest. His eyes were large even though all he could see was darkness. He couldn’t believe what Panchito had just said. Donald wasn’t sure if he had truly meant it, or if he was just being flirtatiously friendly. He was tempted to burst out from his sleeping bag to ask if he was serious, and why they were so insistent on teasing him at every turn. 

All these years, he had thought that they were just treating him the same way that they treated a lot of others. It wasn’t uncommon for him to witness their flirtations towards others when they were younger. Thinking back on it, he realized as they got older, the two became less open with their advances at other people. Donald hadn’t even realized that he became the sole recipient of their affections. Of course, they still occasionally smooth talked people other than him, but never in the way that they talked to him. He had just assumed they were being friendly like always, since being charming and suave were kind of part of their personality traits.

Had they really been romantically interested in him all of these years and he hadn’t noticed? Why had it taken him a decade away from them to finally realize it? Donald felt like an idiot, but he wasn’t sure that his newfound realization would actually change anything. He didn’t think that even if he had known that they liked him in that way ten years ago that it would have changed anything. He probably would have still pushed them away regardless.

Donald’s heart fluttered the more he thought of José and Panchito. The way they touched him, looked at him, and spoke to him was almost too much for him to bear. His brain split into two roads, one telling him how much he longed to be with them in a romantic capacity, and the other telling him it was impossible and never going to happen. His nephew’s faces suddenly flashed in mind, causing him to curl up even further and clench his eyes shut. He decided on the latter road for the time being.

Now wasn’t the time to silently debate his deep seated emotions. Their adventure was supposedly going to come to an end tomorrow. He wasn’t sure what they would face, but he knew it would be best to be well rested in order to take on whatever was thrown his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations  
> Mi vida- my life  
> Amado- sweetheart  
> Mi querido- my darling  
> Solo mira eso lindo cara- Just look at that cute face  
> Maldición- damn  
> Você é tão adorável, minho querido- You are just as adorable, my dear  
> Patita(o)- duckling  
> Mocinha- little lady  
> Durmam bem- sleep well


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I underestimated much how I would write for this chapter, so there’s still one more chapter left. That could change if I end up writing more than I originally think I will, but I’m estimating one more chapter! 
> 
> I want to give another thanks to everyone who has given kudos and left comments. I’m glad people are enjoying this story, and look forward to it!

“Rise and shine, you lot!” Scrooge bellowed from outside the two tents, causing their occupants to groan. “I let you all sleep in, so get up and at ‘em. I can practically smell the treasure!”

Everyone grumbled and moaned as they stumbled out of their tents like zombies. They sagged, their tiredness weighing them down, and rubbing their eyes as if they could rub the sleepiness away. They each took turns yawning, their mouths opening almost impossibly wide. The only one who didn’t seem fazed by how early it was, besides Scrooge, was Panchito.

“Come on, guys! This will be fun and exciting!” Panchito said, a little too happily for everyone’s tastes. “I’m with Señor McDuck on this one. You can all sleep when you get back home.” He stepped in between Donald and José, then squeezed their shoulders, bringing them into a double sided hug.

“But it’s too early.” Louie whined. He had his head resting against Huey’s shoulder. “It’s only like eight in the morning!”

“Which means we are losing daylight!” Scrooge countered while kicking the tent’s supports out of the ground. “Let’s go people; I’m not getting any richer or younger the longer we stand around!”

It didn’t take them long to finish packing up the rest of their stuff, but it was enough time to help shake the sleepiness they felt. There was a buzz of excitement through them all as they wondered what they would find. The longer they walked, the more curiosity prickled at their feathers. Their every step was taken with the promises of untold treasure and thrilling adventure.

The three caballeros were more chipper than they had been during the whole trip, finally giving a kids a look at their close friendship. As they walked, they practically stayed shoulder to shoulder. They swapped stories from their years absent from one another, hoping to fill in some of the gaps. Many times, they ended up reminiscing on their times together in the past and of their own daring escapades. The kids were more than happy to hear some of those stories. The boys still had a hard time believing their uncle was capable of going on cool adventures, but Webby took this as her chance to learn everything that she could.

“What ever happened to Baron Von Sheldgoose? Did you really defeat Lord Felldrake? Why did you all stop going on adventures with Xandra?” With each question Webby asked, she steadily spoke faster, louder, and with more excitement.

Donald chuckled at her boisterous attitude. “Well, actually, all the answers to those questions kind of go together.”

“Donald’s right.” José said as he looked down at Webby, who was beaming up at them. “We are pretty sure we defeated Felldrake. We haven’t seen hide nor hair of either him or Sheldgoose in all of these years. I’m sure Xandra would have contacted us if they showed their faces anywhere.”

“And _that_ is kind of why we stopped seeing Xandra.” Panchito added, gaining a guilty look. “We were no longer needed to help save the world. It was also around that time we three started fighting more often…”

“Why did you guys start fighting, again?” Huey asked with a cocked brow.

“Yeah, if you were such good friends before, what could you have possibly had to argue about?” Louie asked, not holding back any of his usual sass.

José and Panchito immediately glanced at Donald, then at one another.

“We cannot speak for Donald,” José retorted, “but Panchito and I had our reasons for fighting. We lost sight of our friendship while fighting for something we thought only one of us could have.” He laughed at the confused faces the children gave him.

“It’s a grown up thing!” Panchito offered, but the kids still looked befuddled. “We just stopped seeing eye to eye. We were young and un poco loco.” He twirled his finger around by his head, signifying craziness before he wrapped his arms around both Donald and José’s shoulders, pulling them in close. “But now we’re amigos again!”

“I don’t understand what you could have been fighting over that it broke you apart?” Webby wondered as she tapped the side of her beak in thought.

Donald watched Webby with a small smile on his face. It slowly faded as he pondered over the question she was asking. “Hm, you know I never asked why you two started fighting all the time. You never really seemed to be fighting about anything in particular, you two just bickered a lot and always tried to one up each other.” He didn’t want to add that he had been too self absorbed in his own life at the time to have the energy to worry about them.

José grinned mischievously as he left Panchito’s side and went to Donald’s. He put his arm on top of the rooster’s and got in close to Donald. “Let’s just say we were fighting over a certain _someone_ not a _something_ , hm?” He spoke quietly in the duck’s ear, but still loud enough for everyone else to hear him.

Donald’s eyes shot wide open and his cheeks flushed bright. The insinuation sent a shiver down his spine, and he couldn’t decide if it was a good or bad thing. He darted our from their grasp, and started walking more briskly. “Is it just me, or are these trees getting taller?” He asked, hoping for any sort of way out of this conversation.

“Hey, Uncle Donald’s right. The trees are getting exponentially bigger.” Huey deduced while looking into the treetops.

“Oh ho, we must be getting closer!” Scrooge called out from the front of the group.

“Hey, what’s this?” Dewey asked as he ran past Scrooge.

They followed the little duck. He was pointing at an oblong rock that stood out from the rest of the jungle. It was covered in vines and seemed too tall to be just a normal rock. It also stood alone, and wasn’t part of some rock formation.

“That looks manmade!” Webby said while trying to move some of the vines. “I think there’s an inscription under here!”

“Come on, lads. We can get these veritable vines down in no time!” Scrooge had pulled out his machete and was pointing it at the rock threateningly.

Donald pulled out his own machete and gently pushed Scrooge to the side. “Step aside everyone, I’ve got this.” He walked up to the rock, took a deep breath, and then suddenly started swinging the machete wildly. He jumped up, down, and around the rock, hacking at the vines. He stopped and his chest and shoulders heaved from the exertion.

The vines comically fell to the ground all at once, revealing the stone underneath. The monolith before them was covered in intricate carvings all around the edges and words engraved in the middle.

José stepped forward and traced his fingers over the lettering. “ _To those who dare enter here, a sword may be your friend, but truth and sharp wit are the greatest weapon of all. For those who doubt the power in themselves, turn back now._ _There will be no refuge for the weak of spirit._ ” He looked at everyone behind him and shrugged.

“Wait, I thought we were looking for a snake?” Donald asked, just as confused as everyone else.

“Maybe it has arms.” Dewey suggested with his own shrug.

Webby had walked up to the stone and was rereading the words in her head. “No, I think there’s more to this than we know. This makes it sound like we’re going to have to go through trials of some sort.”

“So, it’s not bad enough we’re going after some giant snake, but there’s going to be other things that are trying to kill us?” Louie folded his arms over his chest in annoyance. “Of course, why would I expect anything less than some cryptic rock telling us we’re going to probably die horrifically?”

“Oh, Louie,” Donald placed a comforting hand on his nephew’s shoulder, “it didn’t say we were going to die. Besides, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Really? Because that whole thing just sounded like a big threat.” Louie gave an unamused chuckle. “I’m kind of surprised you’re _not_ more worried, Uncle Donald.”

“Come on, Louie,” Webby oozed positivity and optimism, “we have four of the greatest adventurers of all time with us! There’s nothing to worry about!”

“Webby’s right, Louie.” Huey nodded in affirmation. “Also, statistically, with Uncle Donald here with us, he’s more likely to get hurt than you.”

“What? That’s not true!” Donald argued as his face contorted between fear and anger.

“You do have a tendency ta gravitate towards danger, lad.” Scrooge gave his eldest nephew a cocked, apologetic grin.

“There is no need to be so gloomy, amigos!” Panchito laughed nervously. “No one is going to get hurt.”

“Espero que não…” José mumbled quietly enough that only Panchito heard him. He coughed slightly before leaning back on his umbrella with a cool look on his face. “We are pros, pequeno, you have nothing to worry about as long as we are here.” He smiled and winked at Louie.

“Enough debating our doom,” Scrooge said in exasperation as he walked past the monolith, “we still have a treasure ta find. Trials or no, I _will_ find it.”

Everyone obeyed and followed Scrooge. They all couldn’t help but feel like they were stumbling upon something big. The further they went, they noticed that the trees just kept growing taller. They soon reached a point where they couldn’t even see the tops of the trees. The jungle around them became darker as the trees became more close knit, causing their branches above to block out the sun.

“This is becoming somewhat arrepiante…” José commented as he eyed their surroundings cautiously. “Very ominous.”

The others agreed, all silently debating with themselves if it was worth it to continue. Sheer curiosity won them over, so they continued until they noticed a break in the trees. They stepped through and came into a large clearing. Everyone gasped in awe at the sight before them. There was a temple, larger than life, spread out before them. It resembled a Mayan temple. It almost looked like a pyramid, but instead of coming to a point, there was a square structure on top. The whole building stretched out into a rectangular shape, and had stairs leading up it on each side that the group could see. Behind it, there was a tree much larger than any of the others. It loomed over the temple, casting shade over the whole area.

“This is incredible!” Webby exclaimed as she admired the architecture. “But it doesn’t make any sense…”

“Yeah, didn’t you say that this Culebrón guards underground burrows?” Huey had pulled out his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook and was flipping through it.

“Yes, patinho, that is what I said. I must admit, I did not expect to find anything,” José motioned to the structure with his umbrella, “like this.”

“How has no one found this?” Panchito asked incredulously.

“That huge tree covers this whole area. I bet anyone who flies over would just see more jungle.” Webby concluded.

“And I bet people are too scared of the snake thing to come close on the ground!” Dewey added.

Louie was squinting his eyes and taking a few wary steps towards the temple. “Who’s that on top?”

Seven sets of eyes followed Louie’s gaze. Up the stairs, at the top of the temple near the entrance, they could see a figure. They couldn’t make out any discernible features, but they could tell that the person had an almost ethereal golden glow.

Donald, José, and Panchito perked up and looked at one another. They were all silently asking each other the same question.

“No way!” Panchito hollered enthusiastically.

“Xandra?!” All three of them questioned in unison before they took off. They rushed up the stairs one by one, leaving the rest of the duck family in shock. In all their excitement, they made it up the stone steps more swiftly than they would have normally. Once they reached the top, they screeched to halt and let out disappointed groans. The others shortly came up behind them, panting and moaning at their own sudden sprint up the stairs.

The person before them was, unfortunately, not Xandra. The woman resembled Xandra in many ways though. She wore a long, white, billowing toga dress, gold band on her arms, and delicate headband that looked to be made of gold leaves. “Were you expecting someone else?” She asked them in a velvety voice.

“Apologies, senhora.” José took his hat off, twirled it in his fingers, brought it to his chest, and then bowed. “You have the glow of a goddess; we mistook you for someone else, I’m afraid.”

The lady placed a hand on her hip and shook her head. “So much for grand entrances.” She mumbled before repositioning herself into a more grandiose pose. “I am Aletheia, the Goddess of Truth! Have you mere mortals come to prove yourselves worthy of my bounty?”

“What’s a Greek goddess doing in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest?” Webby asked, baffled.

“These are different times, child. A goddess has to take work where she can get it.” Aletheia answered with a small shrug.

Scrooge walked up to the Goddess of Truth, placed his hands on his hips, and puffed his chest out. “Well, if by bounty you mean riches beyond belief, then yes, we have come ta prove ourselves worthy.”

“I see. Know this, mortals, many have walked these halls, but none have escaped.” Aletheia spoke dramatically, motioning towards the entrance behind her. “Once you enter, there is no turning back. Three trials you will face which will judge if you are worthy. Although, this first room will determine what you treasure most of all. Good luck!” She said the very last part in a chipper voice before snapping her fingers and disappearing.

“This is literally the point of no return, and no one else has made it out of here alive.” Louie exclaimed in panic. “Am I the only sane one here who thinks we should just turn around?”

“Are we really going to do this?” Donald placed a hand on his uncle’s shoulder.

“Of course we’re doing this! We’ve faced more dangerous obstacles, and might I remind you lot that we aren’t like normal families.” Scrooge pulled away from Donald. “Treasure hunting runs through our veins, and I’ll be darned if we turn back now!” He turned around and marched into the stone temple.

The others reluctantly followed, and once they were all through the entryway, a slab of stone dropped behind them, blocking the only way out. They all blinked a few times, their eyes adjusting to the sudden shift in darkness. The room they were in was long, had two rows of columns, and was dimly lit by torches.

“Okay, this temple isn’t right.” Huey walked up to one of the columns and placed his hand on it. “This architecture doesn’t match the outside of the temple, and the time period between the two styles has got to be hundreds of years apart. I don’t know who designed this, but they did it all wrong.”

“Whoa!” Dewey ran past everyone and further into the room. He stopped by one of the columns and pointed at a skeleton propped against it. “You think these are for decoration?” He asked with a laugh as he grabbed the skull and held it in his hand like a puppet.

“Dewey, put that down!” Donald ordered as he shuffled slightly further into the room. “I don’t think that’s a prop.” He grimaced as he noticed more skeletons strewn about the room.

“Ah, visssitorss. It’ss been ssso long.” A hissing voice echoed around them, making them all jump in surprise while looking for the source of the voice. “Oh how I’ve misssed having playthingss. I sssee you’ve found my other friendsss. None of them lassted very long. Perhapsss, you all will make better toyss.”

Dewey yelped as he threw the skull to the ground. He immediately started wiping his hand on his shirt. He had only looked up for a fraction of a second when he saw bright red, glowing eyes in the darkness behind the column nearest him. In that split second, he saw fangs lunge towards him, and he barely had time to dodge out of the way. His arm started to sting where one of the fangs sliced him as it passed. He didn’t even had time to react as he was suddenly being lifted off the ground, and wrapped up in something dark and fuzzy.

“Dewey!” Everyone in the group called out, taking defensive stances.

The snake was much larger than they had anticipated. It was longer than a car and almost as thick as a tree trunk. It was covered in dark brown, stringy fur, resembling a hairy rat’s tail. It had coiled itself around Dewey tightly, who was grunting at the added pressure. The snake had its red eyes pointed towards everyone else and was flashing them a fanged grin. It didn’t look like it had the head of a cow like José had originally told them, but just looked like a furry snake head.

“I guesss I could have a little ssnack first.” The Culebrón chuckled menacingly before it opened its mouth. It unhinged its jaw as it overshadowed the little duck.

Donald balled his hands into fists as his whole neck and head burned angrily red. He yelled out incoherently and dashed towards the snake. He climbed up the creature, pulling out hair as he went. He kept quacking unintelligible obscenities as he darted around the snake’s head, swinging his fists wildly, punching everywhere he could reach.

The Culebrón let out a surprised hiss with wide eyes. It loosened its grip on Dewey, sending the small duck to the ground. When Dewey landed, he quickly got back up and ran to the rest of his family.

Once Donald noticed that Dewey was a safe distance away, he started swinging around the snake’s neck and used his momentum to body slam the snake on the ground. With the snake dazed, he ran to the other end of it and grabbed its tail. He pulled the tail over and started wrapping, twisting, and tugging until the snake was balled up into a knot. He kicked the snake a few more times until he was satisfied that it wasn’t going anywhere. It just wriggled helplessly, slightly rolling around.

Donald turned around with incredible speed and ran over got Dewey. He immediately plopped onto his knees and started looking his nephew over. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt? What’s this?” He grabbed Dewey’s arm and investigated the cut that was there. It was dripping a small amount of blood and a purple substance.

“I’m fine, Uncle Donald!” Dewey laughed and pulled his arm away from his coddling uncle. He suddenly grabbed his head before stumbling forward, back into his uncle’s embrace. “I… I’m fine…” He repeated weakly.

“Dios mío…” Panchito knelt down next to them and looked at the young duck’s arm. He looked between the two ducks with a worried look.

“The venom…” José said quietly as he placed a hand on Donald’s shoulder.

“R-Really, Uncle Donald… I’m alright.” Dewey pulled away from his uncle and took a shaky step backwards.

“Thisss issn’t fair…” The snake groaned with a strained voice.

Donald snapped his head back and glared daggers at the snake, who gulped and ducked its head down in fear. He stood up and started frantically looking around the room. “We need to get him out of here. There has to be a way out!” He hurried to the stone wall that had closed behind them and began to push on it with all his might, but to no avail.

“Wait, didn’t Aletheia say that this room would determine what we treasure most?” Webby asked, earning confused looks from everyone. “Well, she knew that the Culebrón was in this room. I bet there’s an antidote or something at the last trial!”

“Now that’s being smarter than the smarties, lass!” Scrooge clapped his hands together as he gave Webby an impressed look. “Come on, Donald, we have ta press forward.”

Donald was groaning as he was trying to lift the door up. Of course, it didn’t budge at all. He started banging his fists on it as if that would somehow magically open. “But what if there’s not an antidote? We need to get him to a hospital!” He cried out in desperation. He jumped when he felt two hands on his shoulders. He turned to see his two friends looking at him with reassuring smiles.

“Everything will be alright, my friend.” José said calmly.

“Si, José is right. We will beat this temple, and save your sobrino. We have to keep going, though.” Panchito helped pull Donald away from the stone door.

“We better hurry.” Huey retorted, grabbing everyone’s attention. He had pulled out his first aid kit, cleaned, and wrapped his brother’s wound. He was now placing the back of his hand on Dewey’s forehead. “He’s already starting to burn up.”

Donald nodded, determination washing over him. He didn’t know what would be waiting for them in the next two rooms, but he knew that he would do whatever it took to save his nephew. He knew he would never forgive himself if anything bad were to happen, and he was already kicking himself over the fact that Dewey got hurt in the first place. He squared his shoulders hand stormed down the hall, ready to face whatever came next, for the sake of his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations  
> Un poco loco- a little crazy  
> espero que não- I hope not  
> arrepiante- creepy


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is! The final chapter! I had so much fun writing this and will probably eventually make a sequel. I had a little trouble writing this chapter, but I think I finally got it the way I wanted it. Thank you so much for everyone who has read, left kudos, and wrote comments. I appreciate it all so much. 
> 
> This is the first multi chapter fic I’ve ever finished, so thank you all for going on this journey with me!

“Eh, Donald? When we said we should continue we did not mean to rush blindly into the next room!” José called after Donald, who was currently speed walking towards the next room. The parrot looked at the rest of their group, and they all shared the same worried expression.

When they noticed that Donald wasn’t going to slow down, they hurried after him. José and Panchito lead the group with the children right on their tails. Dewey was the only one who wasn’t as enthusiastic in the endeavor to chase down his uncle. His breathing had grown heavy just from the small amount of exertion that it took to even try to keep up, which Scrooge had immediately noticed. The older duck scooped the younger one into his arms and rushed after the others.

“You guys said that if we wanna get out of here, then we have to keep going. That’s what I’m doing!” Donald hollered behind him in annoyance. “Besides, there’s nothing in this room!”

Donald was standing in the middle of the room. It was more spacious than the last, not having any structures inside. In fact, the only thing that was in there was more torches, and a pattern on the floor. It was a large four pointed star, smack dab in the middle of the room, and Donald was standing in the center. He placed his hands on his hips and turned around to face the others who were standing at the room’s entrance.

There was a sudden, loud mechanical whirring that filled the room. The floor started to shake, forcing everyone to throw their hands out to steady themselves. Donald screamed in surprise when abruptly the star shape around him sprung up from the floor and closed in on itself, imprisoning him inside. He grabbed at the vertical bars to his new cage as it started to lift in the air.

José and Panchito were holding onto the kids as the ground rumbled below them. They watched Donald rise up from the ground, being pulled up by a cord that hung from the ceiling. They stumbled backwards and fell onto their butts as the floor suddenly lurched. They quickly scooted back towards the entrance.

“What’s going on?!” Donald yelled, poking his head out, and looking down. He watched as the previously stable floor was shifting and moving towards the others where it was vanishing underneath the rest of the floor. As it disappeared, it revealed a pit of boiling lava. A wave of heat wafted up, hitting him in the face, and forcing him to retreat back into his cage. His gaze was thrown about the room, looking for any means of escape that wouldn’t end with him swimming in lava.

“I see you made it past the first room. Very few have managed to make it this far.” Aletheia’s golden voice sang throughout the room. There was no sign of her anywhere, though. “This room is of my own design. You _all_ were meant to be trapped, but since it is only you, Donald Duck, this will have to suffice.”

“How do you know my name?” Donald asked, looking around for the source of the goddess’s voice.

“Why, I am the Goddess of Truth. I see that which is unseen, and hear that which has not been spoken. You, _Donald Duck_ , have been lying to everyone here, including yourself.”

Donald’s attention was drawn to the wall when he heard more stone shifting. A panel in the wall opened, causing him to scream, duck, and place his hands on his head as something came flying out of the wall. He opened one eye warily when he realized he hadn’t been speared, skewered, or worse. He looked up and saw what looked like a large sword protruding from the wall. It was resting right above his cage with the edge of the blade set against the chord that held him in the air. He gulped and felt sweat drip down his forehead, and not just because of the growing heat.

“I can see a truth buried inside of you behind so many lies. They say the truth will set you free, but in this case it will literally.” The sword began to saw back and forth, slowly cutting the cord that was keeping Donald from a fiery demise. “You must reveal the truth that even you yourself have denied to be true.”

“So, what, just tell the truth? That’s… easy enough.” Donald laughed nervously as he pulled on his collar. He went back to the bars of his cage and looked down at the others below. “Um, Uncle Scrooge, I… I may have accidentally left the water hose running before we left.” He grimaced, already preparing for the reaction he knew was coming. 

“You did _what_?! Are you daft?! My water bill is goin’ ta be through the roof!” Scrooge shook his fist at his nephew in anger.

“Although true… that is not a life altering revelation.” Aletheia sounded slightly annoyed.

“It is ta me!” Scrooge called from down below before he heard a groan that caused him to look down. He saw Dewey in his arms, steadily growing paler. The little duck’s eyes were clenched shut and he had a pained look. The older duck grit his teeth and returned his gaze to his eldest nephew. “Donald, we dinnae have time for your nonsense! Tell her what she wants ta know!”

Donald groaned in frustration and began to pace around his cage. “I’ll show you nonsense.” He mumbled to himself, trying to think of what this goddess could possibly want from him. “Ugh, I don’t know what she wants!” He threw his hands up in the air.

“Donald, I think you should stop moving.” Panchito frowned and pointed above the cage. It was starting to swing from Donald’s movements, causing the chord to be cut even faster.

The duck yelped as he followed the rooster’s gaze. “Okay, okay.” He gripped his head, panic starting to set in. “A truth… the truth… But, I’m not lying about anything!” He fell to his knees and looked down at his family. His eyes met with those of his two friends.

The sudden realization he came to felt like a stab to the chest. Of course the answer had been right there in front of him. He had been trying to convince himself for the entirety of this trip, even years before, of something that was so blatantly true to not be so. He never in a million years thought that this would be the way that he would finally stop lying to himself, and now it seemed he was going to have to tell the others as well.

Donald bowed his head in defeat. “I’m sorry boys…” He said softly before bringing his gaze back to José and Panchito’s. “I… I like you two as more than friends!” He yelled quickly, just wanting to get the words out there. His cage dropped slightly as the chord started to rip even more, dragging urgency from the duck. “I have for the longest time. It’s always scared me, and I didn’t want to lose the respect of you three before you were even born. Or now, for that matter.” His eyes darted to his nephews as he rubbed his arm uncomfortably, then looked back to his friends. “I never knew how to bring it up, or even talk about it. So, I just pretended like I didn’t feel those feelings for you two. It was easier to be angry at you than admit to myself how much I love you!”

“Oh, Donald!” Panchito was clutching at his chest and looking up at the duck with glistening eyes. He wrapped an arm around José who was blinking, dumbfounded.

“Now, that is the truth.” Aletheia said in a singsong voice with a small giggle. As she spoke, the floor jolted once again and began to reappear.

José shook his head, not knowing if this was really happening. It felt like some kind of dream that he would wake from any moment. He watched Donald, and wanted nothing more than to be close to him. His eyes traveled slightly upwards. He noticed the giant sword had stopped slicing back and forth but stayed in place. The cage was still rocking a smidge and he could tell that the chord was hanging by a thread. He pulled out of Panchito’s grip and shook his head again with wide, fearful eyes. His eyes went back and forth between the floor that was still making its way over the lava and Donald’s cage.

“It is not going to make it in time!” The parrot’s eyes met with Donald’s and the terrified look the duck gave him made his heart burn with the need to protect. “Panchito, do you think you can reach that lever?” José pointed to a handspike sticking out of the bottom of the cage.

Panchito followed his finger, noticing the lever. “Si.” He said shortly, with a nod as he pulled his lasso out.

At that moment, there was a loud snap as the chord finally broke which threw José and Panchito into action. Panchito swung his arms over his head, readying the lasso. He flung the lasso towards the cage and managed to wrap it around the lever. He gave it a swift tug, throwing the cage open.

José was running across the moving floor, keeping his eyes on Donald. The cage was plummeting towards the lava below. Donald was standing in the middle of the cage with wide eyes. “Donald, jump!” José ordered before jumping onto the ground and sliding on his stomach. He extended his arm over the edge of the floor, holding his umbrella out.

Just as the cage passed the ever closing floor, Donald leapt off. His fingers gripped the umbrella tightly, making them both sag with his added weight. The duck’s eyes traveled downwards, looking at the bubbling lava beneath him. “Pull me up, pull me up!” He screamed as he tried to climb up the umbrella.

José hoisted him out from over the pit just as the floor closed back up. He instinctively pulled Donald into his arms and scooted away from the already passed danger. He then grabbed Donald’s shoulders and held him at arms length, checking him over. “Are you alright?” He asked as his eyes traveled all over the duck.

“¡Gracias a dios!” Panchito fell to his knees and skid to the other two birds. “¡Estoy tan contento de que estés bien, mi cariño!” He spoke quickly before embracing them both. He started placing small kisses all over Donald’s face. “¡Yo también te amo!”

Donald understood the last phrase and his face instantly burned bright red. He chuckled nervously, his face somehow turning even more red with each kiss Panchito placed on him. He felt Panchito’s beak lightly brush the corner of his bill causing him to jump out of their grips and look over at the rest of his family. He wanted to tell them he was sorry, but he wasn’t even really sure of what he was sorry for anymore.

“Uncle Donald, you don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Huey reassured, seemingly reading the older duck’s mind. “We love you for you, it doesn’t matter who you like, or who you decide you want to be with. If anything, we respect you more for telling us.”

“You know, as long as they treat you right, we won’t have any problems.” Louie added as he looked at José and Panchito with narrowed eyes, earning fearful gulps from the two.

“Y-Yeah… What… they said…” Dewey’s strained voice came from Uncle Scrooge’s arms. He tried to smile but his face just twisted in pain. Sweat clung to his feathers and his little chest rose and fell rapidly.

Huey gently unwrapped Dewey’s bandage around his arm, apologizing each time the blue clad duck winced. The skin around the wound was swelling, puffy, and red. “If there’s an antidote, we need to hurry and find it. He’s getting worse, and I think the venom is spreading.” He looked up at Scrooge, then back to Donald with a concerned expression.

“Then we should get going.” José stood up and pulled Panchito with him.

“And maybe don’t run head first into the next room, eh?” Panchito helped Donald off of the floor, who looked embarrassed.

The group made their way towards the next room, the stone door lifting up for them. This room was a lot smaller than the other two, but still earned looks of awe from the party. On either sides of the walls, there were more decorative pillars surrounded by piles of gold, jewels, and treasures of the like. Standing in front of glittering heaps were two golden, larger than life statues. They were both holding what resembled shamshirs made of gold in front of their chests.

“That must be the antidote!” Huey motioned to the far side of the room where there was just a small pedestal. The only thing on top of it was a container filled with a green liquid.

“I think we need to be careful with how we go about this.” Webby interjected, stepping in front of the others. “I don’t think it will be as simple as just walking up and grabbing it. Also, the goddess had said that the first room would determine what we treasure most, which leads me to believe we can either take the antidote or treasure. Not both.”

“Louie!” Donald chided his nephew.

“What?” Louie was laying with a relaxed demeanor in the nearest pile of gold, inspecting a particularly large diamond. “The antidote thingie is right there. I figured I’d go ahead and pick out my share of the treasure while you guys go grab it.” 

As he spoke, the statues sprang to life. The one standing closest to the green clad duck turned around and stared down at him with glowing, red eyes. He gulped as it took a step towards him, raised its sword over its head, and swung it downwards.

José was there in a flash and blocked the inevitable blow to the little duck. He pushed his umbrella against the statue’s sword. The force of the strike sent him skidding backwards slightly. He glanced at Louie, whose eyes were wide with terror. “Get back!” He instructed as he swung his umbrella back towards the statue, making it retreat slightly.

The statue swung again, barely giving José time to dodge. He jumped backwards, but the tip of the sword sliced the front of his suit. He yelped when he noticed his exposed feathers poking out of his newly torn clothes. José quickly returned into a defensive stance, pointing his umbrella towards the statue.

“Donald, we need that antidote!” Scrooge said suddenly, seeing that Dewey’s condition was steadily worsening.

“Have you not seen the giant statues trying to kill us?!” Panchito asked incredulously, motioning wildly to the one fighting José and the other one, which had began to move as well, and was slowly walking towards them.

“Uncle Scrooge, watch the kids!” Donald stepped forward with a determined look. “José, Panchito, I need you two to keep that one busy! I’ll distract the other one, and go after the antidote!” His eyes locked with his friends and the three of them shared a look of solidarity before nodding in agreement.

Donald didn’t falter, even as the threatening golden golem loomed over him. He puffed out his chest, psyching himself up, and then ran forward. The statue swept the sword towards him. He swiftly ducked down as he ran, and slid right under the blade and passed the giant. He grabbed a large jewel that was laying at his feet. “Over here, you big palooka!” He threw the gem right at the golden statue’s head.

It hit its mark with a loud clank. Donald wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but was still shocked nonetheless when the statue turned to face him, those piercing eyes looking down at him. He raised his shoulders and chuckled nervously with an apologetic look. His assailant didn’t seem to care as it brought the sword up over its head. Donald could see the bottle he so desperately needed out of the corner of his eye at the end of the room. He waved a swift goodbye before darting in the other direction.

On the other side of the room, José was struggling to fight off his own aggressor. The statue wasn’t as graceful in combat as the parrot was, instead it used its brute strength to its advantage. He dodged, weaved, and parried when it was necessary. He had just rolled away from the blade that had landed on the ground in its attempt to cut him down when he noticed Panchito standing behind the golden statue, waving his arms to get his attention. The rooster then pointed down to the lasso that was in his hand. José followed the rope and saw it was tied off to one of the pillars, and that his friend was holding it taut.

A smug grin spread across José’s face as he nodded at Panchito. He had no doubt about what the rooster was showing him to do. He swung his umbrella towards the statue, with a newfound, debonair, swashbuckling attitude. He closed in on his enemy, blocking every blow that came his way. He let out a complacent laugh as he knocked the others sword to the side before popping his umbrella open.

The act startled the golden giant who stumbled backwards, not noticing the trap laid out behind it. It tripped on Panchito’s lasso, who groaned with the added weight. Its arms flailed wildly as it tried to regain its balance. In its fight to stand up straight, the statue accidentally stepped on some stray gold coins. One would have thought they were banana peels the way the statue went sliding across the floor straight towards the wall. The golden giant wasn’t able to stop itself as it went head first through the wall. The bricks around it crumbled, creating a large hole which they used to watch the statue go tumbling down the side of the temple.

Donald slipped on the steps he was climbing as the entire building shook. He didn’t have time to look back or even wonder what had happened. He managed to jump up the remaining steps just in time as the blade of his chaser’s sword imbedded itself into the stone steps exactly where he had just been. He stepped behind the pedestal carrying the coveted antidote. He quickly grabbed it then looked down, seeing the statue’s sword slowly wriggling its way out. His gaze went back up to look across the room at his family. They were huddled around Dewey while keeping their gazes on the scene before them. He didn’t like the scared look he saw on his uncle’s face who was watching their ailing nephew. He knew that if he was going to act, he needed to do it now, but he feared that if he got into another skirmish with the statue he wouldn’t make it to them in time. With that thought, his eyes swept over to his friends who had barely had time to register their own little victory. In that moment, he decided to trust them more than he ever had before. “Panchito! José! Catch!” He cried out just as the statue got its sword dislodged. He felt as if he had been punched in the gut at the exact moment he sent the bottle sailing over the statue’s golden head.

The two birds perked up at the sound of Donald yelling at them. Panchito, being closest, noticed the bottle flying their way. “Ah, I got it!” He called out, his eyes glued to the antidote. He stretched his arms out, deftly catching the bottle before cradling it to his chest so as not to drop it. With no hesitation, both himself and José dashed over to the huddled duck family.

Scrooge snatched the antidote as soon as it was offered to him. He popped the cork out with his thumb before gently putting the rim to Dewey’s mouth. He was thankful that his nephew was conscious enough to swallow the green liquid as it traveled down his throat. The old duck swallowed his own fears when the little duck in his arms began to blink, his eyes becoming more focused as he sat up. Scrooge began to wonder if maybe the antidote had a touch of magic or the like when he felt Dewey’s burning feathers return to normal temperature.

Donald wanted to run to his family, to see if the antidote had worked, but all he could see was the body of the statue in front of him. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t move until he looked down. The tip of the statue’s sword had made a new home in his lower abdomen. A shaky laugh escaped his beak at the sight of his own blood spreading out and staining the feathers around the drove in blade. He looked back up at the statue whose glowing eyes faded to black before unceremoniously pulling the blade out and heading back to its previous position on the other side of the room.

Donald watched the statue return, his own eyes wide with disbelief and fear. He placed a hand over the gash, hoping to stem the blood flow. He let out a long breath when he felt the warm liquid spill out over his fingers. “I’m okay. I’m okay.” He mumbled quietly to himself, failing to reassure himself as he felt his heart rate quicken.

Dewey had jumped out of Scrooge’s arms, ecstatic at his miraculous recovery. The cut on his arm was still there, but he was no longer feeling the effects of the snake’s venom. “I’m okay? I’m okay!” He hurrahed happily, pumping his fist in the air. “Uncle Donald, I’m okay!” The little duck ran over to his uncle, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed the other stumbling down the steps. “Uncle Donald?”

The others had followed Dewey over, and all gasped in unison when they noticed Donald. Donald tried to smile at them, but failed miserably. He wobbled to the side as his eyes fluttered. He shook his head and took deep, calming breaths. His beak quivered when he pulled his hand away and looked down to see it covered in blood. He looked back up, his eyes meeting those of his nephews. They shared the same wide, scared gaze. He tried to swallow, feeling like he had a golf ball stuck in his throat.

Panchito was at his side in a flash when the duck began to tip over. “I got you… It is okay.” The rooster’s voice was shakier than he would have liked.

“I think he’s in shock.” Huey conveyed, watching his uncle’s eyes dart about the room. He chanced a glance at the wound on Donald’s abdomen but immediately regret it when his vision spun. He averted his gaze, instead looking up at his eldest uncle. “I… I don’t have the skill to… to…” The red clad duck gulped, not being able to finish his previous sentence. “We need to get him to a medical professional. He’s at a serious risk of bleeding out and we don’t know if any of his vital organs were hit.”

While Huey was speaking, Scrooge had reached into his bag and pulled out his satellite phone. He flipped it open, pulled up the antennae, and dialed in a number. “Launchpad!” He said urgently when the pilot answered. “We need a speedy pick up, and when I say speedy, I mean you should have already been here five minutes ago! Use the tracking beacon on my phone, make it snappy!” The old duck listened to the other’s response before snapping the phone shut. “He’s on his way.”

“Will he make it in time?” José asked from his position at Donald’s other side.

“Are you kidding? You obviously have never rode with Launchpad.” Dewey scoffed. He had a cool look on his face, but had a tight grip on the eldest triplet. “I bet he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Wait, but where is he going to land?” Webby spoke up as she looked outside through the hole in the wall. “There’s only jungle for miles.”

Scrooge stepped over to where Webby was looking, and looked out and up. “That tree.” He said shortly, motioning for the others to join him. “If we can get ta the top of that tree before Launchpad gets here, we can flag him down, and jump onto the plane as he passes.”

“Even if the rest of us managed to get up that tree, what about Uncle Donald? He isn’t looking so hot.” Louie stated while he warily gazed at his uncle who was clinging onto Panchito, looking seconds away from passing out.

“I can carry him.” Panchito answered suddenly. He quickly tugged his backpack off and threw it to the ground. He turned his head when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

“Are you sure?” José wondered as he clenched Panchito’s shoulder, trying to steady his own shaking hands.

Panchito took a sharp breath and his eyes widened. He had never seen José make that face before. The absolute fear in those chestnut eyes made his heart break. His brow furrowed into a determined look. “We won’t lose him again.”

José nodded, but couldn’t wipe the unsure look from his face. He leaned in towards Donald and placed his forehead gently on the side of his head. “Apenas espere, querido. Nós vamos tirar você daqui. Seja forte.” He cooed softly in the duck’s ear, earning a low hum from Donald who, even though didn’t understand all of what was said, took comfort in José’s voice.

“Donald, I need you to hold on tight, okay?” Panchito turned his back to the duck who nodded and climbed onto him. When he felt that Donald was somewhat secured, he followed the others out of the temple.

They hadn’t even noticed the goddess Aletheia standing at the exit they had made for themselves as they climbed the stone stairs higher up the temple. “Safe travels! Oh, don’t forget to tell your friends about this place!” She called after them while grinning and waving.

They didn’t bother to look back as they hurried up the steps. Thankfully the tree’s trunk rose up right beside the temple, close enough for them to climb onto the nearest branch. They were lucky that this particular tree had a gratuitous amount of branches for them to climb with close to no effort. They in turn hopped from branch to branch, steadily making their way up the tree. Scrooge and the kids lead the pack with Panchito right behind them and José taking his place last in the line.

Panchito couldn’t help but feel guilty every time he moved to jump on a branch or trek up jutting stumps to reach the next one. Donald had managed to stay quiet for a majority of it, but each time the rooster jostled him about, he couldn’t help but grunt in pain. It also didn’t help that he could feel Donald’s blood soaking through his jacket and warming his back. “We are almost there, amado. Just hold on a little longer.” He glanced back at the duck apologetically.

Donald chuckled weakly as he looked between Panchito and José who had jumped onto the same branch as them. “We’re not even dating for five minutes, and you two are giving me pet names.” He nuzzled his beak in the crook of Panchito’s neck, his small grin changing back into a pained expression.

“Dating? Oh my, Panchito, I think our Donald is losing it!” José joked before placing a hand on the duck’s back. “You better get used to it, meu amor, because we will be doing it for a _long_ time to come.” The parrot’s eyes met with Panchito’s and he tried to smile for both of their benefits. Every drop of blood he had seen while following them up the tree had dwindled his hopes a little further each time. It didn’t help to see Donald trying his hardest to cling onto Panchito while breathing irregularly.

They tried to keep the prospect of what would happen if they didn’t manage to get Donald to a hospital in time. It spurred them forward, none of them about to let the beloved duck down. So, they kept climbing. Until Scrooge burst through the leaves at the top of the tree, shortly followed by the children and then the caballeros.

“How are we supposed to jump onto a moving plane?” Louie asked, obviously nervous.

“Well… I dinnae know…” Scrooge shrugged, drawing a blank. He began to sweat along with everyone else when they could hear the sound of a nearing engine. They all looked in the sky and could see an orange speck drawing closer.

“Here!” Dewey suddenly pulled his eldest uncle down and dug through his bag. He pulled out the satellite phone, quickly hitting the speed dial button. “Launchpad! You need to eject the cargo out of the plane before you pass us!”

“Wha-?! The cargo? Lad, have ya gone crazy?” Scrooge smacked his palm against his forehead.

“Trust me!” Dewey slid the phone back into his uncle’s bag. “We need to be ready to jump.”

They watched as the plane steadily grew closer. They assumed Launchpad had opened the hatch, because they saw large boxes fly out the back and into the jungle. Everyone let out noises of realization when the netting used to hold down the cargo was hanging off of the back of the plane. The group all prepared themselves, getting into stances to jump.

The Sunchaser was close now; they could see the trees below being tossed around from the air coming off of it. Panchito’s heart was racing and he felt clammy. Every possibility of what could go wrong in this moment crossed his mind in a matter of seconds. He grabbed Donald’s arms and pulled him further onto his back. “Hold on tight, Donald. Don’t let go.” He said firmly but gently. He didn’t feel at all assured when all he received in response was a low hum of agreement.

Panchito didn’t get any more time to think about it when Dewey suddenly yelled, “Jump!”

The whole circumstance was a shot of luck, and thankfully it didn’t miss. The net was far enough out and wide enough that they were all able to successfully jump on at once. Jumping on turned out to not even be the hard part. As soon as Panchito had grabbed the netting, he felt Donald’s grip grow slack. He let out a surprised cry as he tried to grab onto the duck before his arms slipped off of his neck. Panchito only ended up grabbing at air.

“Got’cha!” Scrooge’s cane flashed past the rooster. The handle caught onto the collar of Donald’s suit before he was able to go plummeting into the jungle below.

Donald was trying his best to stay awake. In his minds eye, he was looking at a picture of his family, his nephews, Scrooge, and now José and Panchito were there as well. He wasn’t ready to lose any of them. He weakly turned his head up, seeing all the worried faces looking down at him. He could barely hear their shouts over the wind and a deafening ringing in his ears. Somehow knowing they were all concerned for him filled him with comfort. It made him feel sure that they would make certain that they would all see each other again as the darkness overtook him.

——————————————————

Everything was dark still, but the roaring wind was nowhere to be heard. It had been replaced by a high pitched beeping sound. That wasn’t right. Donald realized it was only dark because his eyes were still closed. He slowly opened them, having some trouble as they felt like they were glued shut. At first, all he saw was white, making him wince at the sudden brightness. He blinked multiple times until his eyes came into focus, staring up at a white ceiling. His eyes widened as it dawned on him that he was surrounded by sterile hospital walls.

Donald immediately tried to sit up, but his body screamed in objection. He quietly groaned; his whole body felt like it had been hit by a bus. He turned his gaze to the rest of the room, his eyes instantly being drawn down the length of his bed. His eyes grew wide at the sight of José and Panchito laying their heads on either side of the bed right below his covered feet. Their eyes were closed, breathing steady, but brows slightly furrowed.

“They haven’t left your side.”

Donald looked over at his uncle, not having realized he was sitting in a chair towards the side of the room. The kids were all huddled, sleeping in the window seat behind Scrooge. He looked back down at his friends, wondering just how long he had been unconscious. He hesitantly lifted the blanket covering his lower half and grimaced at the stitches he saw underneath. He swallowed the knot in his throat while lowering the blanket. He looked back up at the two birds laying at his feet.

Donald’s beak twitched upwards. Of course those two would still manage to look worried for him even while sleeping. He couldn’t believe how much they genuinely cared for him. Suddenly, a stream of tears rolled down his cheeks and a sob escaped his beak.

The noise caused the two birds to stir, their own eyes beginning to slowly open. They shot wide when they both realized that the noise had come from the bedridden duck. “Donald!” They exclaimed in unison as they both dashed to his side.

“What is wrong? Does it hurt?” Panchito asked frantically, pulling on Donald’s blanket to check his injury.

“I will go get a nurse!” José made to run out of the room but was stopped by the gentle hand placed on his own.

“N-No, it’s not that.” Donald’s eyes squinted as his beak curled up in laughter. He rubbed the tears away from his eyes, steadily regaining his composure. “You two are something else.” He looked between the two of them with eyes that had an affectionate glint to them while grinning.

Donald grabbed both of the birds by their jacket collars, tugging them a little closer. He pulled José closest first, abruptly smashing their beaks together. The parrot didn’t even have time to react before Donald let him go and moved on to Panchito.

Panchito, having seen what the duck was up to, now knew what to expect. As Donald held onto his collar, he brought his hands forward and placed them on the duck’s cheeks. Their mouths met in the middle, soft, yet passionate. The kiss seemed to last forever until José cut in, gently moving Donald’s mouth back over to his. Panchito didn’t mind and just placed his forehead on the side of the duck’s head. Once the other two stopped kissing, all three of them rest their foreheads against the others’. They kept their eyes closed and just basked in the feeling of one another with their hands on each other’s cheek, shoulder, or hand.

“I love you guys.” Donald said once they finally pulled away from each other. He chuckled nervously as his faced began to burn bright red. The children were wide awake now, staring at the three of them. He shook his head while covering his eyes in embarrassment, peeking out from between his fingers. It was a relief to see the kids just grinning at them with smug, knowing looks. He pulled his hands away and gained an apologetic look while rubbing the back of his head. “I’m sorry if this trip was a bust because of me.” He motioned to his whole body as if it were the issue.

“A bust?” Huey repeated. “The whole point of this trip was to get you three back together! If anything, this was a huge success!”

“Yeah, that’s good and all,” Louie joined, “but _my_ trip was definitely a success.” He pulled out the same diamond that he had been pawing at the temple.

“Ah, a pahtino after my own heart.” José turned out his pockets to reveal some gold coins and a few small jewels.

“You two have a lot ta learn.” Scrooge scoffed as he unzipped one of the smaller pockets to his bag that was filled to the brim with treasure.

Donald smirked while shaking his head as everyone started laughing. His chest warmed with the love he felt for everyone in the room. He had spent too long hiding his own feelings from himself, so it felt good to finally feel like he could be open. “I was thinking.” Donald scratched his chin, gaining everyones’ attention. “This is only if you want to, but… Would you two want to come back to the States with us… with me?” He asked, looking up at José and Panchito with unsure eyes. It felt like a weight lifted from his chest when the two nodded yes fervently.

The kids shot up from the window, vibrating with excitement. They crowded around Donald’s bed as they started talking about all the things they could do and show José and Panchito once they left Brazil. The two couldn’t help but feel ecstatic as well at the notion. It didn’t matter to them that they had been to Duckburg before, because they knew it would be a whole new experience if the little ducks were to show them around.

“Oh, and you guys can stay with us!” Dewey nodded, a big grin on his face. “Right, Uncle Scrooge?”

“Well,” Scrooge tapped his chin in thought, “I suppose I could rent out one of the guest rooms.” The old duck put his hands up in surrender at the immediate exasperated looks the children gave him. “Okay, okay. Free of charge, I guess!” He spoke sarcastically, but smirked at them nonetheless.

“You know, with all this gold, I could finally buy my own nightclub.” José thought out loud, perking up at his own idea. He reached across the bed and grabbed Panchito’s hand. “I bet we’d even have enough to buy you a small ranch!”

Panchito’s eyes widened and a large smile broke across his beak. He leaned over the bed and scooped José into his arms. He didn’t even realize he was shaking the whole bed until he heard Donald lightly grunting underneath them. The rooster let out a nervous laugh, set José down, and gave Donald an apologetic smile. “Ah, lo siento…” He grabbed the ducks hand reassuringly.

“What do you say that as soon as I get out of here,” Donald squeezed Panchito’s hand and then grabbed José’s as well, “we go home.” He looked between his new boyfriends, his nephews, Webby, and his uncle with a content look, feeling more sure of the future than he had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations   
> ¡Gracias a dios!- Thank goodness, thank god  
> ¡ Estoy tan contento de que estés bien, mi cariño!- I’m so glad you’re okay, my (honey, sweetie)  
> ¡Yo también te amo!- I love you too   
> Apenas espere, querido. Nós vamos tirar você daqui. Seja forte.- Just hold on, sweetheart. We will get you out of here. Be strong.   
> Amado- love, beloved

**Author's Note:**

> Translations  
> torpé pato- clumsy duck  
> O que está acontecendo aqui- what’s going on here  
> Eu sinto muito- I’m so sorry  
> Esperar- wait  
> Sobrinos, sobrinhos- nephews  
> Tío- uncle  
> Pequeno- small  
> Viejos- old  
> Pato- duck  
> Te he echado de menos- I’ve missed you  
> pequeña dama- little lady  
> crianças- children  
> pequeños- little ones  
> Venga- come on  
> Lixo- garbage


End file.
